News / North East & Tayside

Armed robber raided Gleneagles Hotel then fled to Brazil

An armed robber who took part in a raid at a luxury hotel has been jailed for 11 years.

STV News

10th Jan 2020

An armed robber who took part in a raid at a luxury hotel has been jailed after being brought back from South America to face justice.

Dean Jones was part of a three-man gang who staged the smash and grab heist at a jeweller’s boutique at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel, at Auchterarder, in Perthshire.

He was jailed for 11 years and four months at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday.

The 39-year-old escaped with 50 Rolex watches along his step-brother Liam Richardson and Richard Fleming in June 2017.

None of the watches, worth a total of £516,750, have been recovered.

Fleming, then 42, was jailed for 15 years with a further three years supervision in 2018 and 30-year-old Richardson was also sentenced to 11 years and four months.

The weekend before Fleming’s trial, police discovered that the third man, Jones, had boarded a flight from Turkey bound for Brazil.

Fleming and Richardson earlier jailed over the robbery. <strong>Police Scotland</strong>”/></div><figcaption aria-hidden=true>Fleming and Richardson earlier jailed over the robbery. <strong>Police Scotland</strong> <cite class=hidden></cite></figcaption></figure><p>The Brazilian authorities were contacted and he was detained as he disembarked from a plane at Sao Paulo airport on August 17, 2018.</p><p>He was subsequently extradited back to the UK last year.</p><p>Days after the raid he had flown from London to Malaga and it is believed he then moved on to Morocco before later jetting to South America.</p><p>In court on Friday he admitted taking part in the robbery with others with faces masked and in possession of hammers, a machete and pistol.</p><p>The men put employees Stephen McIvor and Daniel Horne in a state of fear and alarm for their safety by repeatedly striking and smashing display cabinets at the Mappin and Webb shop.</p><p>A judge told him: “The robbery was an act of serious, premeditated criminality. It involved significant advance planning with a visit to the hotel some weeks before.”</p><p>Lady Carmichael told Jones: “Criminality of this nature will not be tolerated.”</p><p>She said: “You removed yourself from the country and as a matter of fact avoided, for a significant period, facing the course of justice for the robbery and there was the necessity for extradition proceedings.” </p><p>Jones and Richardson travelled up to Glasgow two days before the robbery from their home city of London in an Audi that was to be used in the raid.</p><p>Fleming, a Glaswegian who had settled in London, travelled up by train.</p><p>On the day of the raid they travelled from Glasgow in convoy with the Audi and a Range Rover Evoque.</p><p>They drove to the main entrance of the hotel in the Audi A4 and left the vehicle armed with weapons and shouting.</p><p>Jones and Richardson were each carrying weighted hammers that could smash through security glass and Fleming was armed with the gun and machete.</p><p>Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC said: “All three men were dressed identically in black, including their gloves. They further concealed their identities with masks covering their faces.”</p><p>The entire raid took place in two minutes before they left in the Audi which was abandoned and they swapped to the Ranger Rover for their getaway.</p><p>The Range Rover was later found burnt out at a graveyard in the east end of Glasgow.</p><p>The robbery sparked a massive police operation and DNA linking Jones to it was discovered on a hammer found in the Audi and in the vehicle itself.</p><p>Fleming was caught on camera in Glasgow Central train station later on the day of the robbery showing off a watch before he and his accomplices boarded a train for London Euston.</p><p>The court previously heard that staff at the hotel feared the gang were carrying out “a terrorist attack”.</p><div class=

WhatsApp channel QR Code

Today's Top Stories

Heartbroken dad calls for action following death of daughter Chloe Morrison in lorry tragedy near Drumnadrochit

Exclusive

'Chloe meant everything to me, she was so much fun and I miss her every day'

World’s End murders: Decade since serial killer Angus Sinclair jailed for 37 years

Archive

World's End murders: Decade since serial killer jailed for 37 years

New intelligent bedside cabinet technology ‘helped me be a mum again’ by assisting with son’s medication

North East & Tayside

New intelligent bedside cabinet technology 'helped me be a mum again'

Bonfire Night fireworks blamed for death of red panda kit at Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh & East

Fireworks blamed for death of red panda kit at zoo

Bus drivers facing ‘staggering’ levels of abuse, union warns

Bus drivers facing ‘staggering’ levels of abuse, union warns

Number of children admitted to adult wards for mental health treatment falls

Number of children admitted to adult wards for mental health treatment falls

Health secretary Neil Gray to make Holyrood statement over use of car to attend Aberdeen football matches

Neil Gray to address MSPs over use of car to attend football matches

Popular Videos

New employment laws at Westminster aim to help women going through the menopause

'I went through the menopause in my 30s after receiving cancer treatment'

Covid, cost of living and social media: Why more young women are struggling with mental health

'I battled anxiety and anorexia as a teen - young people are more vulnerable than ever'

Scientist’s daughters keep family tradition alive as George King retires from post at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

North East & Tayside

Scientist's daughters keep family NHS tradition alive following retirement

Teenage girl, 16, raped in Dundee car park while area busy with revellers

North East & Tayside

Manhunt after girl, 16, raped in car park while area busy with revellers

Snow forecast as temperatures to plummet across Scotland

Insight

Snow forecast as temperatures to plummet across Scotland

Sean Batty

Trending Now