Crime connected to the gambling industry in the UK is usually of a very different nature and yet another individual is looking at time behind bars after trying to hold up a bookmakers’ shop. Dan Staples, once a promising young goalkeeper for Sunderland, left a ransom note claiming he’d put an explosive device in a branch of Coral in July. It led to the shop and surrounding area being evacuated for four hours and panic ensuing, many believing it may explode any moment.
The offender, who was already in court after being charged with stealing a man’s wallet containing £500 in Newcastle’s Circus Casino, pled guilty to multiple charges. They included placing an imitation explosive device with intent to induce another to believe it would ignite or explode and blackmail. He will be sentenced next month with the man likely to receive a custodial sentence.