A brave Aberdeen shop worker disarmed a knife-wielding assailant who was trying to rob his store of an iPhone.
Alex Sudarkin brandished an antique knife at the man in the George Street shop and tried to make off with an iPhone X, worth almost £300.
The 25-year-old posed as a shopper, but when the time came to pay for the phone Sudarkin grabbed it and produced the black “decorative” knife.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how a second shop worker managed to disarm him and throw the knife out of reach.
Accused produced blade
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told the court that at around 1.10pm on March 26 this year at AIT Solutions, Sudarkin approached the counter and told the staff member he wanted a new mobile phone.
He was shown various phones before selecting a black iPhone X worth £299.
As the retail worker took the phone from him and asked if he wanted to pay by cash or card, Sudarkin grabbed it and backed away towards the door.
While doing this, he lifted up his jacket and produced a knife.
“The complainer, another employee who had been watching from the back of the store, got up and ran towards the till area,” Ms Martin said.
“The accused held the knife up towards him.
“The complainer tried to bring the accused under control. He managed to take the knife from the accused’s hand and threw it onto the till area.
“The accused was restrained to the ground by the complainer while his colleague called the police.”
Appearing in the dock, Sudarkin pleaded guilty to one charge of stealing a mobile phone, a second charge of brandishing a knife and a third charge of being in possession of a knife.
‘He and partner had split up’
Defence solicitor Caitlin Pirie told the court that Sudarkin had a history of intermittent drug use and this had contributed to his offending behaviour.
“At that time, he and his partner had split up and he found that quite difficult, so he started drinking,” the solicitor said.
“He had been particularly upset on the day of these offences and he felt like he was making no progress in his life.
“Mr Sudarkin was assaulted on that day and took substances along with alcohol.”
Ms Pirie confirmed that the knife was an “antique” that Sudarkin had taken from his ex-partner’s house, adding that her client did brandish the blade but that no injury was caused.
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Sudarkin that he was “satisfied that only a custodial sentence was appropriate” in his case.
“You took a knife into commercial premises and brandished it at staff there,” he said.
The sheriff sentenced Sudarkin, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, to 16 months in prison.
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