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Jeweller's mobile phone stopped bullet fired at his chest during robbery
Last updated at 10:07am on 11.05.07
Store manager Darren Prior was shot during an armed robbery, but escaped injury because the bullet hit his mobile phone
A jeweller shot in the chest during an armed robbery escaped injury because the bullet hit his mobile phone, a court heard yesterday.
Shop manager Darren Prior, 25, was chasing the raider who had looted his shop of diamond rings worth £50,000.
Despite the raider firing a "warning shot" past him, Mr Prior continued the pursuit down an alleyway, where the gunman suddenly stopped and turned before firing at him from just 20 feet away.
The shot ripped through his jacket but hit the LG mobile phone in his breast pocket, a jury heard.
Hove Crown Court in East Sussex was told it was a shot that could have been fatal "but for a remarkable piece of good fortune' on Mr Prior's part.
Instead, the mobile absorbed the full force of the impact, leaving its owner unhurt.
The court heard that the raid took place at Amore Jeweller's in a shopping arcade in Horsham, West Sussex, on September 22, 2005.
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Prosecutor Richard Barton told the court: "It is unchallenged evidence that at 4.10pm a black male entered the shop, wearing a hooded top, hood up, sunglasses, white tracksuit trousers, white training shoes and gloves.
"Once inside, he pulled a handgun out of the hoodie pocket and brandished it at Mr Prior."
The jeweller, recalling the incident, said: "He pointed the gun directly at me, directly at my head and shoulders.
"He said, 'Open up the cabinet.' He was referring to our diamond cabinet."
Mr Prior told the court he fumbled with the keys, partly to stall the raider and partly because he felt "anxious".
He said: "The gun was still pointing at me. He told me to stop timewasting."
The jury were told the robber then heard a noise from the back of the shop where assistant Christopher Pervis was in the kitchen.
The gunman ordered Mr Pervis to the front of the shop.
Mr Prior said: "He said he was going to shoot Christopher in the leg if I didn't open the cabinet and started a countdown from ten.
"I got the right key and put it into the lock and told him.
"He got angry and was shouting. He opened the door to the cabinet. He pulled a bag out of his hoodie pocket and started grabbing rings from the diamond window and chucking them into the bag.
"He was grabbing handfuls of them, about five handfuls. He then came round to the door.
"I said he was not going to leave the shop with the rings. He pushed or barged past me to get outside then ran."
Mr Prior described how he chased after the raider because he wanted to get more information for the police, who were on their way.
He said he wanted to see in which direction the robber was heading and whether he had some form of getaway vehicle.
"I was about four metres behind," said Mr Prior. "I was shouting, 'Call the police! Theft!'"
He told how the gunman fired a warning shot as the chase continued.
"He shot towards the ground in my general direction but not directly at me.
"I saw smoke from the gun. He then ran off.
"I continued to chase after him; I was about ten metres behind. I was keeping my distance because he had a gun.
"He ran up an alleyway and when I was about halfway up, he was at the other end but he pivoted round to face me.
"He had the gun in his right hand and held his arm out in front of me. It was directly at me.
"I felt that I was trapped. The alleyway has no exits apart from the front and back.
"It was a tight alleyway and there was nowhere for me to go. I stopped and stood still. I heard a shot and felt the impact on my right-hand side. It felt like a punch.
"I thought I had been shot. I pulled open my jacket and looked at my shirt to see if I could see blood.
"I pulled up my shirt and looked and still could not see anything then I looked in my pocket and realised it had hit my mobile phone."
Mr Prior told the court that he continued to chase after his assailant, shouting a warning to nearby members of the public that the robber had a gun, then ushering them to safety.
The man disappeared. But at that moment the police arrived.
Sean Henry, 35, of Wallington, Surrey, is accused of attempted murder, attempting to wound with intent, robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence.
Timothy Cole, 30, of Felpham, in Bognor, West Sussex, the alleged getaway driver, is charged with robbery.
Both men deny all the charges.
The trial continues.
