A ROBBER who carried out a £442,000 raid on a North Yorkshire jeweller's has been given a 15 and a half year extended jail sentence.

Appeal court judges recommended that Victor Okumu, 38, be deported a decade ago at the end of a 13-year sentence for robbing a woman in her own home, York Crown Court heard.

But the 38-year-old, who came to the UK from Kenya, remained in the country after his release on March 20, 2014, and has now admitted robbing Bradley's Jewellers in Northallerton.

Sentencing him to 10 and a half years in prison plus five years extended licence, Judge Sean Morris told him it was a "planned, sophisticated, commercial robbery" which Okumu had planned for months.

"The people in the shop were terrified," he said.

Okumu, of Queen Street, Lazenby, Cleveland, was a "very dangerous" man who took whatever he wanted, said the judge.

Police are still trying to track down £229,640 of the jewellery stolen in the raid on March 11, 2019.

Detectives have now revealed details about what the judge called a "very well investigated case".

Just after 10am, Okumu entered the jewellers wearing a blue boiler suit and crash helmet with the visor down. He had been planning the robbery for eight months.

He wedged the door open and pushed a box into a staff member before jumping over the counter.

During the robbery, a staff member received a cut to her hand requiring surgery and a witness could barely hold her mobile phone because she was shaking too hard.

Another staff member pressed a panic button which alerted staff in another shop who alerted the police.

As they did, Okumu took jewellery from the window display and left.

In the days that followed, he travelled between Middlesbrough, Northallerton, London and Darlington trying to evade police.

Detectives reviewed hours of CCTV footage and used witness statements to recreate Okumu’s movements leading up to, and after, the robbery which revealed he had carried out reconnaissance of the premises on previous days.

Okumu was identified from a CCTV still and he left some DNA at the scene.

Police arrested him at a hotel in Fareham, Hampshire on the morning of March 16.

With him were rings from the jewellery worth £212,000.

Four days after the robbery, he had sent a ‘WhatsApp’ message about some of the stolen jewellery.

One of the shop staff told York Crown Court in a personal statement she now feels unsafe if she sees dark-coloured motor cycle helmets and blue overalls and has difficulty serving customers.

“My emotions have also been all over," she said. "I feel anger at what happened and why me? What right did he have to do this?”

Another staff member in her statement said she now has a “fear of attack from men in helmets and work clothes”.

Acting Detective Inspector Matthew Wilkinson of North Yorkshire Police said:

“This was a professionally executed and violent robbery which was a truly terrifying ordeal for both the staff members involved and the members of public who were in close proximity to the jewellers as it took place.

“Okumu carried out extensive reconnaissance and careful planning in the period leading up to the day of the robbery and went to great lengths in the days after the incident to cover his tracks, thinking he was safe by hiding a significant distance away from the region.

“I would especially like to thank the public of Northallerton for their support in this case, as a number of witnesses came forward, reporting numerous sightings of a man matching Okumu’s description both on the day of the robbery and as far back as October 2018.

"Their assistance has been central to bringing this very dangerous man to justice.

“Fortunately, offences of this nature are extremely rare in North Yorkshire and I hope that the significant sentence handed down today sends out a strong message that those who commit robbery in our county will be brought to justice.

“Nobody should ever have to fear something like this happening in their place of work and we will continue to do everything we can to locate people like Okumu who are intent on breaking the law.

“Whilst we continue to review new information in relation to this case, and a 49 year-old man and a 29 year-old woman remain under investigations whilst enquiries continue, there is also a significant amount of jewellery that remains outstanding.

“I would appeal to anyone who has any knowledge of its whereabouts to contact North Yorkshire Police in 101. You can also pass information anonymously to Crimestoppers using their online form or by calling 0800 555 111.”