Gillingham crook jailed for charity shop raids in Rochester
Malcolm Shipley, 44, from Windmill Road, Gillingham, has been locked up for four years after two brazen thefts at a Rochester charity shop. He forced an employee to help him pull off one break-in and threatened her with a knife in a follow-up robbery.
£1,200 stolen in two charity shop crimes
On 25 September 2016, Kent Police were called to a charity shop on Rochester High Street after almost £620 was stolen from a safe. Forensic experts matched a pair of pliers left at the scene to Shipley.
Just two months later on 26 November, the same shop was targeted again. This time, Shipley menaced a staff member with a kitchen knife to open the safe and made off with over £600. His thumbprint was found on a knife block.
Coercion and threats with a knife
Investigators uncovered that Shipley pressured the employee to stage the first burglary. When she refused to cooperate for the second crime, he threatened her with a knife, stole the money, and fled.
‘No place for knife crime’ – police
Shipley pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court on 29 October 2019 and was sentenced the same day. Police Constable Kati Edge said: “Shipley controlled and threatened a woman until she was forced against her will to be part of his crimes. His use of a knife shows how far he was willing to go to rob a charity. Kent Police takes a tough approach to knife crime, and I am pleased Shipley has been jailed and can no longer threaten the community.”
