Shropshire bank raid case officer defends Crimewatch plea for convict
The police officer heading the investigation into an armed robbery in Shropshire where a bank robber was threatened at gunpoint has defended the decision to put out an appeal on TV's Crimewatch for a convict on the run from prison.
Detective Sergeant Dafydd Jones told jurors in the trial of escapee Martin Dawson that his major concern was to stop further offences.
Dawson twice appeared on Crimewatch and in local newspapers – once after the robbery at the Britannia bank in Newport in June last year and again after another robbery of the Britannia branch in Macclesfield last August. He was listed in the programme's "Most Wanted" gallery.
Dawson, aged 51, of no fixed address, who absconded from Sudbury open prison last June, denies three charges of robbery and two of possessing an imitation firearm at the time of committing robbery.
The prosecution at Stafford Crown Court allege Dawson, who was serving a lengthy sentence for armed robbery, is the man who pointed a realistic-looking imitation gun at Newport cashier Carol Jessup and got away with nearly £8,000 and later stole over £7,000 in a "carbon copy" robbery at Macclesfield.
DS Jones said: "As officer in the case, based on inquiries made, I needed to locate Mr Dawson for that offence in Newport. I was satisfied Mr Dawson was the man we needed to locate."
Asked if the suspected robber could have been identified without the Crimewatch appeal, Mr Jones replied: "We would have identified him, it would have taken longer. If we didn't stop him, we might have been dealing with further offences. Our concern was we would have a further offence."
The trial continues.
