A NORTHFIELD man who smashed open a till at a McDonald’s restaurant with an axe and escaped with a small amount of cash has been jailed.
Michael Lynch, 37, of Walmsley Way, was given an indeterminate sentence after being convicted this week at Birmingham Crown Court.
Lynch pleaded guilty to the robbery which took place on March 8 this year.
The police investigation was launched after a man wielding an axe assaulted a member of staff at the drive-thru premises at the Fort in Birmingham before smashing the till.
Detectives going through the CCTV noticed three hours before the incident, Lynch had climbed through an unstaffed drive-thru window and tried to steal the whole cash till by hand.
Further enquiries showed he had been loitering for hours at a nearby petrol station and footage then captured him driving away in a car which was linked to Lynch.
He was arrested on March 20 and during interview denied the robbery, but the damning CCTV evidence sealed his fate and he pleaded guilty at crown court.
Det Con Mindy Mahil, from Birmingham’s Acquisitive Crime Team, said: “The overwhelming evidence against Lynch has resulted in an early guilty plea and an indeterminate sentence being passed.
“Lynch had a history of violent offences – he had total disregard for the staff at McDonald’s and did not hesitate in using the axe resulting in a staff member receiving minor cuts to his head.”
He added Lynch was living with his partner and daughter and his working life appeared settled so only Lynch could explain why he committed this offence, despite being on a life licence.
