Lowestoft – Pair jailed for armed robbery at shop

Misha Goddard & Connor Furlow

A woman and a man have been jailed for a combined total of more than six years, following a knifepoint robbery at a convenience shop in Lowestoft last year.

Misha Goddard, aged 30, and Connor Furlow, aged 29, appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 7 February, where they were jailed for 45 months and 32 months respectively.

Goddard, of St Michael South Elmham, and Furlow, of no fixed address, both pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to the following two offences: robbery; and possession of a knife in a public place.

The incident occurred between 4.15pm and 5pm on Wednesday 16 October at the Best Choice Store on Norwich Road.

Goddard and Furlow initially entered the shop, purchased a drink and then left. Between five to ten minutes later, they returned to the shop and Furlow pulled a knife from his waistband and told the shop worker not to move.

Goddard then attempted to open the till drawer and when she couldn’t get it to open, pulled the entire till so the plug came out of the wall. The pair then exited the shop taking the till with them.

Initial enquiries by detectives quickly identified Goddard as one of the suspects and she was arrested two days later (on 18 October), with Furlow being arrested on 29 October.

The court heard that at the time of the offence, Goddard had been out of prison on licence, having been sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment on 13 September 2023 for a similar offence (occurring at a shop in Beresford Road, Lowestoft, on 16 May 2023).

Goddard’s latest sentence will run concurrently to the remainder of her current sentence.

Detective Constable Georgie Read, of East CID at Lowestoft Police Station, said: “We will not tolerate businesses and their employees being targeted by criminals – especially those who use the fear of violence.

“Stealing from shops is bad enough, but to brandish knives at people who are just going about their working day is despicable and the sentences handed out reflect the severity of the crime.

“Misha Goddard is a repeat offender for this type of offence and as a consequence was handed a longer sentence. Hopefully this time around she will better reflect on her actions whilst in prison.”