A robber raided a corner shop at six in the morning demanding alcohol and threatening staff with a broken bottle, a court heard. Keiran Bunce was caught in his getaway car a short time later and was said to be aggressive and abusive to officers, calling them child sex offenders.
Bunce has a long history of offending including burglaries, thefts, making threats to kill, and possession of weapons. In 2019 he was part of a gang of burglars who raided the home of a vicar, stealing the reverend's sermon and more than £50,000 of family heirloom jewellery, and brutally beating the family's dog.
Swansea Crown Court heard the robbery took place early on the morning of February 22 this year at the Nisa shop in Victoria Road in Port Talbot. Harry Dickens, prosecuting, said that at around 6am Bunce walked into the store wanting to know where the alcohol was. The defendant then began grabbing bottles from the shelves, smashing two bottles as he did so. Want less ads? Download WalesOnline’s Premium app on Apple or Android
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The member of staff on duty came out from behind the counter and Dunce threated the man he would "stab you up". The court heard the defendant made "numerous threats" to the shop worker, and the employee was concerned the defendant would attack him with one of the broken bottles.
Bunce then fled the shop with seven bottles of alcohol, and drove off in a waiting car. The police were alerted to the robbery and the getaway car was located a short time later in the town's Morrison Road. The court heard Bunce was one of three people in the vehicle and was swigging from a bottle of booze.
The defendant became "aggressive and uncooperative" when police tried to speak to him and he then "belittled" the officers and called them "nonces". Due to his behaviour, the officers used Pava spray to subdue him before arresting him. His response to being cautioned was described as "unintelligible". The court heard the shop assistant threatened by Bunce had been left feeling nervous at work. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
Keiran Jason Thomas Bunce, aged 22, of Pant-yr-Heol, Penrhiwtyn, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to robbery when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 12 previous convictions for 20 offences including burglaries, thefts, making threats to kill, and possession of knives and offensive weapons. In July, 2022, he was sentenced to 876 days in prison after breaking into a house in the Melin area of Neath and a tanning salon in Neath town centre.
In November, 2019, Bunce was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for being part of a gang which smashed its way into a vicar's home in Taibach. On that occasion the intruders stole more than £50,000 worth of jewellery - much of which had been handed down to the revered and his wife from parents and grandparents - and took the sermon he had written for that week's service as well as brutally beating the couple's dog. Only a fraction of the stolen jewellery was found, and before sending the gang down the judge asked them directly where the rest was - the three defendants in the dock remained silent.
With a discount for his guilty plea to the Nisa robbery, Bunce was sentenced to 28 months in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was also made the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting the shop worker for the next five years. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
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