Press release: Bradford Robber has sentence increased

A violent robber will spend more time in prison after Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

David Berry, 32, committed a series of robberies between 29 December 2016 and 9 January 2017. On one occasion a victim was stabbed multiple times in the buttocks.

The robberies included breaking into a house, stealing a car from the driveway and stealing a delivery van and its contents. The driver was also dragged out of the van and thrown into the road. Berry then rammed two police cars in an attempt to escape capture.

In separate incidences, Berry also robbed 2 night porters who were working alone in hotels. In the second robbery, the night porter was beaten and stabbed with a knife.

Berry was originally sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison at Bradford Crown Court. He will now serve 15 years behind bars.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

These were planned robberies, involving weapons, which left a trial of destruction – including damage to two police vehicles. The original sentence failed to take proper account of the seriousness of the offences and I am pleased the Court has now seen fit to increase the prison term.