A man has been detained in a secure facility indefinitely after attempting to rob a local supermarket whilst wearing a balaclava and brandishing a fake gun.

Sean Bernard Downey tried to rob the Morrisons Daily on Queens Road on 12 January 2024.

The 22-year-old entered the store at around 18:40 when an employee was serving a customer.

“Give me the money”

When the staff member finished serving the customer and closed the till, Downey walked towards her and shouted: “Give me the money.”

He was holding the imitation gun in his right hand and pointed it towards the Morrisons employee’s face.

When they did not hand over any money, Downey turned to the customer and pointed the fake gun at them instead.

“Give me your money,” he shouted, to which the customer replied: “No, you are not having my money.”

The Morrisons employee then pressed the emergency bell under the counter, which rang throughout the shop and alerted the shop manager in the back office.

The shop manager saw Downey on the CCTV cameras standing at the till and pointing a gun.

He ran towards the till as Downey ran out of the shop, chased by the customer.

Police found clothes, a balaclava, and the imitation gun in a nearby field which were later found to contain Downey’s DNA.

“Very terrifying”

CCTV footage recovered from Morrisons also captured the offence. Downey was later shown the footage, and said that the suspect looked “very terrifying” but said he did not recognise the person in the video.

He also denied any knowledge of the items located in the field and said there would be no reason for his DNA to be found on the items.

When Downey’s phone was seized and searched, it revealed that he sent texts to his neighbour in the afternoon before the incident discussing his urgent need for money and stating: “I can’t do a robby [sic] cuz I don’t wanna go prison. But might have to.”

Downey also discussed other offences he could commit in order to get money via text message to his neighbour.

After the incident, Downey also text a link to a news article about a police appeal for witnesses to the attempted robbery to his neighbour.

“The public is owed to be protected”

Downey initially denied knowledge of the incident, but later said to police: “I’m ready to admit what I’ve done.”

Downey was also sentenced for importing drugs, and attacking a man outside a pub alongside 24-year-old Kenneth Skinner.

The two men assaulted a man following The Oxford pub’s bingo night in October 2023, punching him to the ground and kicking him as he lay unconscious.

The victim was left “out cold” and required hospital treatment for a head injury and a broken leg.

Downey and Skinner were found guilty of common assault following a five-day Royal Court trial in February.

Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae said: “The public is owed to be protected from people like you.”

But the Superior Number of the Royal Court – which convenes for the most seriously cases – decided not to send either of the men to prison for the common assault, despite their numerous previous convictions.

“This man is very ill”

The Jurats sentenced Skinner to 200 hours of community service instead of 14 months in prison, and ordered him to pay the victim £1,500 in compensation.

Downey has been detained in a secure facility in the UK indefinitely, due to his severe mental health problems.

Advocate Darry Robinson, defending Downey, said: “The most important mitigation relates to his mental health. This man is very ill.”

He added that medication and “therapeutic intervention” were helping Downey but pointed out: “They can’t be delivered in HMP La Moye.”

Advocate Olaf Blakeley, defending Skinner, said jail sentences of around 18 months had been imposed in the past for much more serious offences than the assault outside the pub.

He said Skinner had a full-time job and was in a stable relationship, and argued for a community service order, saying: “If there is ever a defendant that suits community service, it’s this defendant.”

“We will not tolerate such acts”

The Deputy Bailiff said the assaults “cross the custodial threshold” and told Skinner and Downey: “This is a nasty assault against a man you barely knew, and a confrontation against a licensee who had the right to eject you as he did.

“This street violence on the roads of St Helier is not acceptable and wholly unnecessary.”

After the sentencing DC Daniel Grigoras from the States of Jersey Police, said: “Our thoughts are with the victims of this violent and threatening behaviour.

“We will not tolerate such acts in our community.

“Ensuring the safety of our islanders is, and always will be, our top priority.”

Jurats Ramsden, Ronge, Le Cornu, Le Heuzé, Entwistle and Powell were sitting.