On December 27, at around 5.11pm, police received a report of a robbery at Aldi in Lottbridge Drive, Eastbourne.
It was reported that two men stole a pack of beer and bottle of alcohol and assaulted staff.
At 7.20pm, police received a further report of a robbery at Co-op in Cornfield Road, where staff were assaulted by men stealing a pack of beer and other items.
Police were contacted a third time at 7.48pm with reports of a person having been robbed in Lismore Road. It was reported that a 50-year-old man was dragged from his car and physically assaulted by two men who also stole his phone and jacket.
Officers were able to identify the pair involved as Louis Thornton, 18, and Liam Kerwin, 25. They were arrested at around 8pm the same day.
Thornton was arrested on suspicion of robbery and Kerwin was arrested on suspicion of theft from a shop and assault of a constable executing his or her duty.
Following investigation, the duo were arrested on suspicion of further offences on December 28.
Kerwin was arrested on suspicion of two counts of robbery and charged the same day with all four offences.
Thornton was arrested on suspicion of two additional counts of robbery and was charged the same day with all three offences.
On December 30, the pair appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court and were remanded into custody.
They later appeared at Lewes Crown Court on January 26, where they both pleaded guilty to all charges and were remanded back into custody ahead of their sentencing.
At their sentencing on February 13, Louis Thornton, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years and eight months.
Liam Kerwin, of no fixed address, was jailed for four years and two months and given a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order. The order includes a requirement to wear a location monitoring tag for one year.
Detective Constable Marcus Cox said: “Retail employees should be able to carry out their work without threats of violence and physical assault.
“We recognise the impact these incidents can have on businesses, employees and on local communities.
“We will pursue the most robust course of justice to hold the offenders accountable for their actions and are working closely with retailers and partners across Sussex to improve reporting, share intelligence, and make full use of technology to identify, arrest and charge offenders.
“I am pleased to see these sentences reflect the severity of the offences.”
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