A FORMER soldier jailed for an armed robbery at a building society
office returned four years later -- almost to the day -- to rob the same
premises.
William Ennis, 24, a former serving soldier with the Royal Highland
Fusiliers, was jailed for eight years by Lord Ross, the Lord Justice
Clerk, at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday.
Ennis, of Spence Court, Greenock pleaded guilty to carrying out four
armed robberies on building societies -- three in Glasgow and one in
Greenock between August 22, 1988 and March 20, 1989.
In each case he vaulted the office counter and threatened staff with
either a knife or an imitation gun. He escaped with sums totalling
#4938.
He was caught after police noted from security video films of some of
the raids that he always wore a blue jumper. Ennis was arrested in a
Glasgow street wearing the sweater and carrying an imitation gun in a
plastic bag.
Mr Colin MacAulay, prosecuting counsel, told the court that Ennis was
jailed for five years for three armed robberies in Belfast -- using an
unloaded military rifle. In October 1985 he was jailed for four years at
the High Court in Edinburgh for the armed raid in Glasgow. The Belfast
sentence and the 1985 sentence were served concurrently.
In 1985 Ennis admitted robbing the Dunfermline Building Society branch
in Bath Street, Glasgow in August 21, 1984, after holding a knife at the
throat of a woman assistant, Helen Vallance, pulling her hair, forcing
her to the floor and forcing her and another woman, Linda Sellers, into
a strong room and robbing them of #500.
At yesterday's court appearance he pleaded guilty to robbing the same
building society on August 22, 1988 after presenting a knife at a woman
employee, Margaret Maule, and robbing her of #750 of money.
He also admitted robbing the National and Provincial Building Society,
in West Blackhall Street, Greenock on February 16, this year of #1930
after pointing a knife at a woman member of staff. He futher admitted
robbing the Alliance and Leicester Building Society in Hope Street,
Glasgow of #960 after pointing a knife at a woman member of staff on
March 13.
On March 20 he robbed the Leamington Spa Building Society in Buchanan
Street, Glasgow of #1298 after pointing an imitation gun at a woman
member of staff.
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