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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3539640.stm
Family faced by armed robber, 12
The boy was disarmed by police officers at Your Cheap Shop
A family whose shop in West Bromwich was raided by a 12-year-old boy brandishing a gun have been praised for their "remarkable bravery" by a judge.
The Guliani family kept the child talking until police arrived at Your Cheap Shop on Oak Lane.
The boy, from West Bromwich, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery.
Judge Robin Onions, sitting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, said he wanted to avoid a custodial sentence.
Slipped out
CCTV footage revealed the boy burst into the store on 8 May with a scarf around his face and hood over his head.
He told the shopkeeper, Jasbir Guliani, to fill a black plastic bag with cash.
Mr Guliani said there was no money in the till and, on instruction to load the bag with cigarettes instead, told the boy he was underage.
The retailer later offered him sweets and crisps instead.
During the raid Jasbir's father, Sudha Guliani, entered the shop and slipped out to call the police on his mobile phone.
I would like to see some other sentence that would avoid locking you up
Judge Robin Onions
The boy was disarmed by two officers who found the weapon was unloaded.
Judge Onions said: "I have never seen someone of his age and of his build with such a fearsome weapon."
He also rejected suggestions that the child had not been aware of the gravity of his offence.
He went on: "This young man had that gun for some time. He knew what a sawn-off shotgun was.
"He had his hood up when he went into the shop. He had time to think about what he was doing."
'Highly intelligent'
The boy, who is now 13, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent and attempted robbery at an earlier hearing and appeared from local authority care on Thursday accompanied by his mother.
The boy was due to be sentenced but the judge adjourned the case until August 19.
He told the court: "If you were a grown up, over 18, you would be going to prison for a very long time.
"But you're only 12 and you're not a big lad and you don't look very mature.
"I would like to see some other sentence that would avoid locking you up."
At an earlier hearing the court was told the robbery had been hatched by the defendant and his older brother, who was 14 at the time.
Elizabeth Norman, defending, said the defendant was a highly intelligent boy with the potential to be a model citizen.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3539640.stm
Family faced by armed robber, 12
The boy was disarmed by police officers at Your Cheap Shop
A family whose shop in West Bromwich was raided by a 12-year-old boy brandishing a gun have been praised for their "remarkable bravery" by a judge.
The Guliani family kept the child talking until police arrived at Your Cheap Shop on Oak Lane.
The boy, from West Bromwich, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery.
Judge Robin Onions, sitting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, said he wanted to avoid a custodial sentence.
Slipped out
CCTV footage revealed the boy burst into the store on 8 May with a scarf around his face and hood over his head.
He told the shopkeeper, Jasbir Guliani, to fill a black plastic bag with cash.
Mr Guliani said there was no money in the till and, on instruction to load the bag with cigarettes instead, told the boy he was underage.
The retailer later offered him sweets and crisps instead.
During the raid Jasbir's father, Sudha Guliani, entered the shop and slipped out to call the police on his mobile phone.
I would like to see some other sentence that would avoid locking you up
Judge Robin Onions
The boy was disarmed by two officers who found the weapon was unloaded.
Judge Onions said: "I have never seen someone of his age and of his build with such a fearsome weapon."
He also rejected suggestions that the child had not been aware of the gravity of his offence.
He went on: "This young man had that gun for some time. He knew what a sawn-off shotgun was.
"He had his hood up when he went into the shop. He had time to think about what he was doing."
'Highly intelligent'
The boy, who is now 13, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent and attempted robbery at an earlier hearing and appeared from local authority care on Thursday accompanied by his mother.
The boy was due to be sentenced but the judge adjourned the case until August 19.
He told the court: "If you were a grown up, over 18, you would be going to prison for a very long time.
"But you're only 12 and you're not a big lad and you don't look very mature.
"I would like to see some other sentence that would avoid locking you up."
At an earlier hearing the court was told the robbery had been hatched by the defendant and his older brother, who was 14 at the time.
Elizabeth Norman, defending, said the defendant was a highly intelligent boy with the potential to be a model citizen.
