Armed robbers who stole £500,000 worth of watches jailed

Richard Fleming, Liam Richardson and a third man were armed with a handgun, a machete and a hammer when they raided the Mappin & Webb store at the Gleneagles Hotel in June last year.

The pair were jailed for a total of 29 years at the High Court in Edinburgh today.

Mr Richardson admitted assault and robbery on 21 August. Mr Fleming admitted charges relating to housebreaking and theft and was convicted by a jury of the assault and robbery at the hotel.

The court was shown CCTV footage of Mr Fleming visiting the hotel on 12 June, nearly two weeks before the robbery.

On 27 June the three men were armed and wore masks when they ran into the hotel, causing staff to fear for their safety. They ran into the Mappin & Webb store and smashed the glass display cabinets. A number of Rolex watches worth £516,750 were stolen during the robbery, none of which have been recovered.

The men travelled to and from the hotel in a stolen car which was later abandoned at Gleneagles railway station. They then travelled to Glasgow in another stolen car which was set on fire and abandoned within St Peter’s Cemetery in Glasgow.

Later that day all three men boarded a train to London. Mr Fleming was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London on 26 July. Mr Richardson was arrested in Croydon on 17 August.

The court also heard that Mr Fleming had broken into two houses in St Andrews on 12 June, stealing jewellery and designer goods, and was near another property with the intention of stealing from it.

Procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, Nicola Patrick, said: “Fleming and Richardson armed themselves and committed a violent robbery in broad daylight in order to steal watches worth more than half a million pounds.

“Thankfully nobody was injured, but this was a terrifying ordeal which will no doubt have a lasting effect on the staff and visitors who witnessed the robbery.

“It is thanks to the painstaking investigative work of police and prosecutors, working with law enforcement in London, that two of those responsible have today been brought to justice.”