Image source: YouTube video, Durham Constabulary - Screenshot
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On at least two occasions in the "Indiana Jones" franchise, the titular hero narrowly avoids certain death and entombment in accursed subterranean locations by slipping through fast-closing gateways, sure never to lose his iconic fedora in the process.
Confronted with the prospect of idling inside a convenience store until police arrived, a thief in Northeast England risked potential decapitation in a similar fashion last month; however, unlike the fictional Dr. Jones, Malcolm Trimble of Durham City was not nearly as fast as he needed to be.
According to the Durham Constabulary, Trimble, 30, walked into a Durham City store with a large kitchen knife stowed up his sleeve.
Surveillance footage of the incident shows a man wearing a hooded jacket and mask carrying a four-pack of lager over to the counter, then brandishing the knife. Police indicated Trimble threatened the shopkeeper with the blade.
The shopkeeper wasn't about to die over lager, but he also wasn't going to be taken advantage of. He triggered the system to lower the shop's metal roller shutters and raced outside. Once clear of the store, the shopkeeper held the door shut, containing the thief until police could deal with him.
As the heavy metal shutters descended, sealing all portals to the outside, Trimble struggled against the shopkeeper to open the door. The shopkeeper managed to bar the thief's exit long enough for the shutters to descend to within just a few feet of the ground.
Although Trimble finally got the door open, his escape was anything but assured. He dropped his beer on the threshold, then attempted what police later referred to as an "Indiana Jones-style slide" under the closing shutters. His feet, legs and lower torso made it outside, but the thief's upper half was left behind along with the beer.
The Durham Constabulary noted that while the pinned-down thief attempted to wriggle free, the shopkeeper called police, who promptly rushed to the shop.
In the three minutes it took for officers to arrive on scene, Trimble managed to crack open a cold lager and toast his failure.
Durham Constabulary
Trimble was reportedly sentenced to three years and four months in jail for attempted robbery and possession of a knife.
Detective Sergeant Paul Mawson of Durham Constabulary said, "It wasn’t the most difficult arrest we have ever made. To be honest, it was an open-and-shut case."
Durham shopkeeper traps KNIFEPOINT ROBBER under roller shutter until police arrive | Caught on CCTVyoutu.be
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