A ROBBERY suspect dismissed suggestions from detectives that he’d tried to steal from a barber.

Ryan Roberts, 32, is accused of attempting to rob Didcot barber Luke Key at knifepoint in November 2018. Co-accused James Cumiskey, 42, is said to have been the getaway driver. Both deny attempted robbery.

Yesterday, jurors heard that during his police interview Roberts laughed at detectives’ claims he had worked together to carry out the botched robbery bid outside Mr Key’s home in Saxons Heath, Long Wittenham.

Roberts said in the interview, a transcript of which was read to the Oxford jury by prosecutor Adam Williams: “If I wanted to rob someone I’d rob them.”

He went on to compare stealing from Mr Key, who had bought The Barber Shop business from Roberts’ step-father, to stealing "from my own"

Roberts said he might have passed through Long Wittenham on the night of the attempted robbery en route to see his then girlfriend in Thame.

He confirmed that he knew his co-accused, Cumiskey, and had previously been in the man’s Vauxhall Zafira – explaining why his DNA was found in the car. Asked about 30 messages and calls between phones belonging to him and Cumiskey, Roberts suggested that he may have been asking about his plans for the evening.

During his police interview, Cumiskey – who told the officer who arrested him that he’d been in Long Wittenham - denied involvement in the attempted robbery. He claimed he’d been asked for a lift to Little Wittenham by an acquaintance, “Simon Peters”, in exchange for £20.

Peters had asked him to pull into Saxons Heath then reappeared around five minutes later shouting “drive”, the Vauxhall driver told detectives. He noted he wouldn’t have committed a robbery in his own car, thought “Peters” was “being a weirdo” and said “hindsight is a great thing when you’re sat in a cell”.

Prosecutor Adam Williams said CCTV appeared to show the Zafira near the Barber Shop at the time Mr Key was leaving the business. Other footage put Roberts at Cumiskey’s home in Didcot after the attempted robbery, it was claimed.

On Monday, jurors at Oxford Crown Court heard how Mr Key had managed to fight off his masked attacker then sped after what he believed to be the getaway vehicle – enabling his girlfriend to take a picture of the car’s registration.

Cumiskey, of Royal Berkshire Close, Didcot, and Roberts, of St Anne’s Court, Didcot, deny attempted robbery. The trial continues.

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