Ryan Lee Preston, 26, of no fixed address but currently in prison, was sentenced at York Crown Court on 14 November 2025 to two-years in prison, he had pleaded guilty to robbery and possessing a knife.
On 14 May 2025, Preston took three bottles of spirits off the shelf in the Harrogate, Bower Road branch of Asda and walked out of the door without paying.
He was challenged by a security guard on his way out and said to the guard: “Not tonight mate”. The guard then asked him to hand over the bottles and as he did so, Preston pulled up his shirt to reveal a knife in his waistband and asked the victim: “Do you want to get stabbed?”
Preston then grabbed the handle of the knife and continued out of the store, passing the guard who followed him, at which point Preston threatened him again, saying “Stop or I will stab you tonight” before fleeing the scene.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Dave Hunton praised the security guard for his bravery:
My thanks go to the security guard who bravely challenged Preston, not once, but three times, despite the presence of a knife and the threats made to him.
This was an audacious crime and a frightening situation for the victim who went above and beyond to do his job.
The defendant knew he would be caught on CCTV so attempted to change his appearance by shaving his head in a bid to evade identification. It didn’t work and he was arrested a short time after the investigation began.
The security guard was extremely brave and thanks to him, a dangerous man who thought nothing of making serious violent threats to a person doing their job, is now behind bars. Violence towards our retail workers is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
