Armed robber who targeted family-owned jewellers across Greater Manchester jailed

A serial armed robber who targeted three jewellers across Greater Manchester has been jailed. 

Daniel Smith (26/10/1984) of Old Trafford, appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court today (Thursday 15 June 2023).

Smith was handed a sentence of four-and-a-half years for armed robbery, attempted armed robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.

He pleaded guilty to three charges at Manchester Magistrates Court on Tuesday 28 March 2023. 

In January 2023, Smith returned to Christopher Brown jewellers, in Stockport, having scoped the premises for security weaknesses a month earlier.

Propping the electric security door open with a brick in a bag, he pressed a weapon against a member of staff and demanded they hand over a unique, highly-valued necklace.

Having escaped the premises with the jewellery, Smith later appeared in Central Manchester in March 2023 with intentions to steal similar items.

Entering Abelsons Jewellers in St Ann’s Arcade, Smith produced a claw hammer as he tried to snatch an expensive bracelet from the owners, Malcolm Abelson, age 78 and Elise, age 71, but was foiled by their fearless reactions when they fought back.

Smith escaped without any jewellery and in the struggle, left several items at the scene which were recovered by police.

Detective Constable Phillip Sargeant, of Central Manchester CID said: "Had it not been for the quick thinking and brave resistance that Malcolm and Elise put up against Smith, we might never had recovered items.

"These were exhibits that directly and forensically linked Smith to the crime scenes. With the support of Christopher Brown and Abelson Jewellers, police managed to quickly identify and arrest Smith for a string of robberies as a suspect who targeted established family-owned jewellers and exploited their security."

Christopher Brown, of Christopher Brown jewellers, said: "This robbery has had a serious impact on the well-being and mental health of my staff and the running of my business. We are a small family business that relies on honest, hard-working individuals, who in turn rely upon the safety and security of the working environment I provide for their employment.

"An incident such as this destroys the trust between the staff and customer and has an implication across the whole business where staff and their families do not want to put themselves at risk in an environment where they might be attacked or physically harmed for someone’s personal gain."

Malcolm Abelson, of Abelsons Jewellers, said: "When you work so hard for something, like building a jewellery business, and run it for decades, you instinctively protect what is yours and what you have made. Elise was not letting go of that bracelet the robber tried to snatch."

Elise Abelson added: "Smith woke up one morning and planned to steal our goods, he had absolutely no regard for our safety or wellbeing when he came at us with a claw hammer.

"He must have thought we were an easy target because we were old, but for somebody to get out of bed and rob an elderly couple running a jewellers, well let’s just say, my kids would never dream of doing such a thing."