Footage shows the moment an armed robber pleaded ‘get me out of here’ after a shop worker trapped him behind the store shutters halfway through his attempted raid.
Jordan Peebles, 32, from Coventry, West Midlands, burst into the newsagents in the city’s Riley Square wielding a large kitchen knife last Christmas Eve.
He tried to attack a member of staff at the small business before starting to ransack the shelves for their most valuable items.
CCTV footage shows him dressed in black and wearing a hood and balaclava as he enters the shop under the cover of darkness.
The crook comes behind the counter and brandishes the knife at the worker as he opens the locked cabinet behind the till.
He begins to fill a bag with items from the shelves, prompting the quick-thinking employee to swiftly flee and close the shutters behind him to trap the thief inside.
The panicking shoplifter desperately tries to escape by forcing the metal barriers open – but his efforts are scuppered as police soon arrive to arrest him.
Bodycam footage captured the moment he begged officers to let him out, asking: ‘Mate, can you get me out of here please?’
Jordan Peebles (pictured), 32, from Coventry, West Midlands, burst into the newsagents in the city’s Riley Square wielding a large kitchen knife last Christmas Eve
He tried to attack a member of staff at the small business before starting to ransack the shelves (pictured) for their most valuable items
CCTV footage shows the employee swiftly flee and close the shutters behind him to trap the thief inside, who soon desperately tries to escape (pictured) – to no avail
Upon arriving at the store, cops firmly ask Peebles, as he remained shut inside, ‘Where’s the knife, where’s the knife?’
He shouts, ‘It’s here, behind me’, with officers replying, ‘Where?’, and the thief indicating, ‘Here’.
Faced with his pleas for escape, the unconvinced constables simply demand, ‘Put it on the floor now’, and, ‘Kick that knife over there now’.
Once the weapon is securely out of the way, they then lift the shutters – not to free him – but to immediately cuff him.
Peebles appeared at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a knife. He was jailed for four years and four months.
Detective Sergeant Jay Aston, from Coventry local Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said: ‘This was a shocking knifepoint robbery which could have resulted in death or serious injury to the man Peebles assaulted.
‘The man showed incredible bravery and quick thinking to defend himself, leave the shop and lower the shutters, trapping Peebles inside.
‘I hope Peebles will have time to reflect on his actions and choices while in prison and am proud of the work of all the officers involved, including the Response officers who were at the scene within minutes to arrest him.’
He is seen wearing a hood and balaclava and all dressed in black as he enters the shop (pictured) under the cover of darkness
Bodycam footage captured the moment he begged officers to let him out after he was eventually shut inside the store, asking: ‘Mate, can you get me out of here please?’
But once they have ensured the knife is securely out of the way, only then do the unconvinced constables lift the shutters, not to free him – but to immediately cuff him (pictured)
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: ‘Every day we work to investigate shop thefts, working alongside businesses and the local authority to deal with prolific offenders.
‘We encourage anyone who witnesses shoplifting to report it to us, as this enables us to build an accurate picture of who is committing these offences, where and when.’
Members of the public can call 101 or go online to report crime to the force – but should call 999 if it is an emergency.
Some 530,643 shoplifting offences were reported in England and Wales for the year ending March 2025, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.
This marks a 20 per cent increase on the previous year and the highest figure since records began in 2003.
The cost to the retail industry is huge, with losses from customer theft reaching a record £2.2billion in 2023/24, according to the British Retail Consortium.
It saw business owners invest an eye-watering £1.8billion on security measures such as CCTV last year, the trade association added.
