A masked raider who terrified an East Kilbride shop assistant at knifepoint has been jailed for 27 months.
Would-be robber Struan McDonald admitted trying to rob the My Local Store on Cedar Drive, Greenhills, last March.
But he was eventually forced to flee empty-handed after brave staff refused to bow during their ordeal.
The baby-faced attacker, of Manitoba Crescent, Westwood, also admitted assaulting his terrified victim.
Twenty-one-year-old McDonald – a regular customer at the store – was later traced after an anonymous phone call was made to the victim.
Hamilton Sheriff Court previously heard how the woman – along with another employee – were working when the raid happened shortly after 7pm.
Prosecutor Jennifer McLaren told the court: “She was cleaning a coffee machine.
“The accused entered the shop wearing a black balaclava and carrying a large hunting-style knife.
“He grabbed the witness by wrapping his arm round her neck and held the knife at her before dragging her towards the till area.
“He was shouting for her to open the till and give her all the money. The shop assistant said she was unable to open the till and McDonald took a bottle of vodka and scanned it in an effort to open it himself.
“He then grabbed her again, by the hair, and held her head against the till. The accused pressed buttons on the screen, but was unable to open the till.
“He smashed bottles of alcohol on a shelf before running out of the shop empty-handed.”
At the time, Detective Constable Craig Jolly told the East Kilbride News the workers had endured a “terrifying ordeal”.
We told how the shop owner offered a £1000 reward to anyone who could help identify the would-be robber.
Bosses at the East Kilbride convenience store released shocking CCTV footage of the attack online along with the cash reward to catch the brute.
The video showed the moment the knife-wielding thug burst into the store and terrorised the two shop workers.
McDonald, in a balaclava, is seen brandishing a large knife, grabbing the woman’s hair and forcing her behind the counter.
He then repeatedly pushes and grabs at her, demanding she give him cash.
As she continues to insist that she can’t open the till, the brute becomes more and more frustrated, repeatedly swearing and bullying the staff member, calling her a “fu**ing b*tch”.
The video was shared by My Local, Greenhills, on Facebook who posted: “Please share and help us find and convict this despicable individual.”
On April 14 the worker received an anonymous phone call telling her who the culprit was. She identified McDonald via social media.
Ms McLaren added: “The worker knew him as a regular customer whom she had served on many occasions.”
McDonald also admitted having an air rifle without a certificate, which was found by police when they went to his home with a search warrant.
The thug pleaded guilty to the charges in February, but due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on court proceedings, it was only on Friday that he was sentenced.
Defence agent Jackson Bateman said his client had developed a drink problem and was in debt at the time of the robbery bid.
He was sorry for what he had put the shop assistant through.
After studying a criminal justice social work report, Sheriff Alasdair MacFayden told McDonald prison was the only appropriate sentence.
