A man denies acting as a lookout for a robber who held-up a Wantage corner shop at gunpoint.

James Povey, 27, is accused of involvement in the robbery of the Premier store in Barnards Way on April 7, 2020, that saw co-defendant Lewis Greenslade get away with around £200 in cash. He denies the allegation. 

Opening the Crown’s case against Povey at Oxford Crown Court on Monday (September 18), prosecutor Sophie Stannard told jurors that the defendant was already in the shop before Greenslade marched in with a gun in his hand.

Prior to the stick-up, he was ‘walking around the store picking up items and, the Crown say, he was waiting until the coast was clear’.

Povey was said to have gone to the front window of the store, ‘no doubt to signal for Mr Greenslade to enter’.

Face covered, Greenslade walked up to the front counter, holding up a gun, and demanded money, Ms Stannard said. He left after being given around £200 by the shopkeeper.

The prosecutor told jurors: “Mr Povey remains in the shop. He talks to the shopkeeper for around four minutes, pretending to be shaken up by the incident, no doubt giving Mr Greenslade enough time to run away before the police arrive.”

At around the same time the defendant left the shop, Greenslade sent a message to Povey's phone that said simply ‘hurry up’, the court heard. The text was never received.

Ms Stannard said: “The Crown say this demonstrates their agreement, because Mr Greenslade had run out of the shop and plainly he was waiting for Mr Povey to pick him up and secure his getaway.”

The jury heard there was no contact between the two men. Despite that, it was said, Povey drove to the Chestnuts play area off Tirrold Way, where GPS data subsequently analysed by the police showed Greenslade’s phone was waiting.

“[The defendant] picks Mr Greenslade up and the only possible reason why that could be is because they had already planned where to meet. They had planned this entire incident,” Ms Stannard alleged.

Phone data showed the two men travelling together over the next hour or so, firstly towards Ardington and then towards Oxford, the court heard.

Povey’s van was spotted at the side of the Hanney Road at around 4.30pm, around an hour after the robbery.

Police officers sent to search the area would later find Greenslade’s shoes and clothing discarded near the road, it was said.

The gun used in the robbery was found in the home of a friend of Greenslade’s. It was a BB gun, taped up to make it look more realistic. Povey’s DNA was found on the base of the magazine, the jury was told. 

Povey, of Hamfield, Wantage, denies robbery. The trial continues.

Greenslade, now 20, has already admitted his part in the robbery.