A thug who robbed an Aberdeen bookies at knife-point has been jailed for more than two years.
Anthony Geraghty pointed a blade at Roberta Dalziel and told her to open the tills of the Coral Eurobet at Cornhill Shopping Arcade.
The 34-year-old, who had been drinking nearby, then fled with £395.
He admitted assaulting Ms Dalziel and stealing the cash when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
The court heard that about 4.30pm on November 27 last year, Geraghty entered the business and approached Ms Dalziel, who then activated her personal alarm to alert the police.
Fiscal depute Stephanie Ross said: “The accused approached her at the counter and she then became aware the he had a large, white serrated knife in his right hand.
“He pointed it towards the till and demanded money.”
The court heard Geraghty’s victim described the robber as “menacing” and “intimidating”.
The thief was handed £395 in denominations of £10, £20 and £5 notes before leaving the building.
Miss Ross told the court Geraghty and a woman were spotted by a resident on the nearby Beechwood Road, “crouching down as if they were hiding”.
And a few minutes later, a man matching Geraghty’s description and a woman rang the doorbell of another resident, and asked if they could call them a taxi and use their bathroom. However, they refused.
Geraghty was found with the cash by officers soon after.
Defence agent Mark Dunbar said he had developed a “fairly severe habit” of taking heroin when the incident took place.
Mr Dunbar said that Geraghty was low on cash but needed his drug, which resulted in the decision to carry out the “crude” robbery with “no real escape plan”.
The court also heard from a letter written by Ms Dalziel after the attack, where she described how badly the robbery had affected her confidence and made her feel vulnerable. It has also left her struggling to sleep at night.
Jailing him for 28 months, Sheriff Alison Stirling said: “This was a very serious offence.
“You have had a lasting and damaging effect on your victim.”