A 14-year-old armed robber has been sentenced to four years in a young offenders institute after holding up his neighbourhood convenience store.
The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, burst into the Arjan off licence in Kynaston Road, Thornton Heath and forced shopkeeper Umakandan Murugejampillai to hand over £750 in cash.
CCTV evidence showed a terrified Mr Murugejampillai and his wife dive for cover as the gunman threatened them with the handgun during the robbery on January 7.
The boy, who was in the care of foster parents at the time, boasted of his crime to his caseworker during a regular meeting on June 22.
He was sentenced to four years for robbery and two and a half years for possession of an imitation firearm, to run concurrently.
The caseworker said the youth claimed the firearm belonged to his jailed brother, although the boy later claimed the weapon was just a ball-bearing gun.
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