Man threatened to ‘throw acid’ in police officers’ faces after ‘terrifying’ pub robbery

During the robbery, the man told the victim ‘it’s the knife or the bag’

A man threatened to “throw acid” in officers’ faces following a robbery at a Cambridgeshire pub. Donald Chatten, 20, was in the Lord Protector, in Mayfield Road, Huntingdon, at about 5.15pm on January 13 when he stole the contents of the victim’s ‘side bag’.

The victim, who knew Chatten from school, repeatedly asked for it back. However, without warning, Chatten pulled out a pocketknife with a serrated blade and held it close to the victim’s face, reportedly saying, “it’s the knife or the bag” and “do you want to feel the blade?”.

The victim told Chatten to keep the bag and the victim’s partner informed the pub landlady who told him to leave as he was barred from the premises. The 20-year-old, of Coronation Avenue, Warboys, near Huntingdon, left the pub and drove off in a Ford Fiesta before he was arrested by armed officers in Coldhams North.

Upon arrest, Chatten became abusive and made threats towards officers, including that he would “throw acid in their faces and shoot them with a shotgun”, Cambridgeshire Police confirmed.

On Friday, August 7, Chatten, was sentenced to 20 months in a young offenders institution, having pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place at Peterborough Crown Court.

DC Neil Patrick, who investigated, said: “This was a totally unprovoked robbery by Chatten which was terrifying for the victim, having a knife held against his face.”