Woman sobs after being jailed for car raids carried out with Coventry Co-op robber

Kerry Fanning and Patrick Tierney had 'turned their lives around' since the incidents in 2021, when drivers of a Renault Clio and a Peugeot 107 were targeted



A mum sobbed as she was jailed for her part in two bungled robberies of drivers with a man who had also robbed a Co-op store in Coventry. At the time both Kerry Fanning and Patrick Tierney were in the grips of drug addiction.

But Birmingham Crown Court heard that both had since turned their lives around following the incidents in 2021, reports BirminghamLive. However, it was not enough to spare them jail sentences - even though their lawyers insisted they had changed.

In what was the second of two failed car jacking attempts, Tierney punched his female victim in the face, dragged her to the ground and threatened her dad with a hammer while Fanning simply sat in the passenger seat and watched.

And in an incident he committed alone, Tierney robbed a Co-op store in Coventry of wine and cigarettes. The court heard he was 'abusive' to staff and told them he was not paying. In another incident, he tried to steal a car for '60 quid' before telling the owner 'sorry'.

In court, Tierney, aged 25, of Regent Road, Handsworth, admitted robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, attempted theft of a car, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and making threats with an offensive weapon. On Tuesday, November 7, he was sentenced to six years and six months.

Tierney has previous convictions for robberies, assault, burglary and inflicting grievous bodily harm. Simon Hanns, defending, said he had 'changed his life considerably' in recent months adding: "The greatest shame of all is that he has done that when he knows he's inevitably going to custody today."

Recorder Tim Green concluded Tierney was not currently 'dangerous' which would have warranted an extended sentence. He said: "At your age there is a pattern of serious offending which is escalating. I am just about persuaded you may be at the point in your life where the dangerous behaviour you demonstrated in June 2021 has become a part of your history."

Defending Fanning, Kerendeep Garcha stated she was 'deeply sorry' for her actions but had since turned her life around, which now included doing charity work. "The truth is she appears in court today a different woman from who she was two years ago," she said.

"At the time of the offences her lifestyle was chaotic. She was a heavy user of crack cocaine and occasional user of heroin. She lived in supported accommodation, having left a toxic and abusive relationship with someone who also supplied her with drugs."

Attempts to get her a suspended sentence soon fell when Recorder Green stated Fanning's offences were 'simply too serious' to reduce to the two-year threshold for which it could have been suspended. Fanning held her hands out and became visibly upset at the outcome.

Defending Fanning, Kerendeep Garcha stated she was 'deeply sorry' for her actions but had since turned her life around, which now included doing charity work. "The truth is she appears in court today a different woman from who she was two years ago," she said.