Men Jailed Over Terrifying Robbery

Four men have been sent to prison for the violent robbery of an elderly man at his Bloxworth farmhouse, following a major investigation by Dorset Police.

Jake Borland, 21, Samir Lammali, 21, Michael Seddon, 23, and Caleb Holland, 43, were all found guilty of robbery at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday, 1 November 2011.

Borland, Lammali and Seddon had threatened, tied up and assaulted the 78-year-old victim at his house during a horrific attack on Thursday, 24 March this year. They stole shotguns, money and a pick-up truck.

Holland drove the men to and from the farm in Bloxworth and provided essential detail about the premises.

Guns were later discovered in Kinson Common and Redhill Common following a surveillance operation by Dorset Police. A cordon was maintained at Kinson Common for three days, while around 100 officers helped to search for weapons and ensure that the public were protected.

Following further enquiries, detectives searched a building in Moore Avenue in Kinson. They found weapons and other property stolen during the robbery.

The four men were arrested in April and subsequently charged.

Borland and Lammali, both from Bournemouth, and Seddon from Bootle, were handed indeterminate prison sentences by Judge Harvey Clark. He told them they would serve a minimum of seven-and-a-half years in jail, before it was considered whether it was safe to release them.

Holland, of Poole, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.

A fifth man, 21-year-old Ryan Dear of Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to possessing firearms and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

Detective Inspector Neil Devoto, of Dorset Police CID, said:

“This is an extremely unusual offence, in which a vulnerable man was subject to a highly distressing and brutal assault.

“A large amount of resources were used during the subsequent police operation to ensure that the offenders were brought to justice and that the guns were out of the hands of criminals, that they could not be sold on and that they could not be used to commit further offences..

“The guns were found in and nearby children’s play areas and so it was essential that they were recovered as soon as possible and that the public were swiftly protected from these dangerous men.”