Martin Joseph Reilly, 53, of no fixed abode was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 12 years on April 2 at Brighton Crown Court, after his conviction for seven counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, eight counts of possessing a firearm whilst committing an indictable offence, and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon.
Detective Inspector Ian Still, who led the nationwide investigation said after the case: “This sentence sends out a strong message to anyone looking to commit similar offences – no stone will be left unturned in tracking them down and they will face a significant time in prison when caught.
“Reilly lived a life of crime and was a prolific offender. He showed no regard for any of the staff in the betting shops, who were all threatened with a weapon before being robbed. Almost all of his victims have been left traumatised by their frightening experiences, with not just their work life affected but also their home life and how they now conduct themselves on a daily basis. I would like to thank these brave people for assisting Sussex Police with the investigation and in doing so, have helped put Reilly behind bars for a very long time. I hope that today’s sentence goes some way in comforting them and knowing that there will be no further victims.
“This was a demanding investigation, no less made so, by the fact that the manhunt for Reilly spanned across seven police forces. Reilly had links to Ireland as well as London, the Midlands and the South East of England. He used several aliases, wore an array of disguises to alter his appearance in order to carry out his crimes and travelled around by public transport.
“Brighton and Hove CID had great support from our colleagues in all the other forces and particularly from Hampshire and Northamptonshire, whose close collaboration and sharing of important information and intelligence helped bring Reilly to justice.”
Richard Royal, Public Affairs Manager for Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming said: “We are pleased with the sentence that Martin Reilly received today and want to commend the bravery of our staff, who were so willing and able to assist the police with their investigation. I’m also pleased that Ladbrokes were able to provide the investigating officers very quickly with high quality CCTV images of Reilly, that helped with his conviction.”
Reilly was arrested on the 22 October 2011 in Hereford and pleaded guilty to all but two robberies and one attempted robbery when he appeared before Lewes Crown Court on 27 January 2012. A total of £23,000 was stolen during the offences which were carried out between June and October 2011. On passing sentence, Judge Paul Tain said that Reilly’s sentence took into consideration his early guilty plea which spared his vulnerable victims, who were all suffering from post traumatic stress, the added pressure of having to go to court and relive their experiences again. He told Reilly that he was a person who chose to take what did not belong to him and despite being a ‘model’ prisoner previously that this time the parole board would not be misled when giving consideration to his case.”
