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Woman jailed for 'shambolic' fake gun shop robbery

BBC A sign for Bishop Street courthouse looms over black iron railings. Behind the railing the front of Derry's courthouse can be seen, with a lampost in front of four large pillars.BBC
The court was told Edgar told shop staff she had a gun

A woman who robbed a shop in Londonderry with a fake gun has been jailed for three years.

Michaela Edgar, 33, whose address was given as Hydebank Wood women's prison, admitted robbing a shop with an imitation firearm on 11 February 2024.

Londonderry Crown Court was told that Edgar took a number of vaping items from the shop before she was arrested outside the premises.

Sentencing, Judge Neil Rafferty said it had been a "shambolic effort" at a robbery.

The court was told Edgar entered the shop and told staff that two boys had sent her to rob it.

Staff told her that she was not getting anything and Edgar told them that she had a gun.

When told she still wasn't getting anything, she reached for the cash drawer and took a number of vaping items before leaving the shop.

Police found her outside the shop holding the imitation gun and she was arrested.

Judge Rafferty called the robbery "surprising and bizarre", citing factors such as Edger using a taxi to get to the shop and waiting outside for police to arrive.