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Thug Yanis Kozlovskis jailed for Stanley knife robbery in Gravesend

Yanis Kozlovskis, 21, of Maidstone Road, Rochester, who has been jailed for six years after he admitted robbery and witness intimidation.
Yanis Kozlovskis, 21, of Maidstone Road, Rochester, who has been jailed for six years after he admitted robbery and witness intimidation.

by Julia Roberts

A thug who robbed a man at knifepoint in his own home has been jailed for more than six years.

Yanis Kozlovskis, 21, brandished a Stanley knife at the face of Daniel Gilson while demanding money.

Mr Gilson was at his maisonette in Medhurst Gardens, Gravesend, looking after his children when he was confronted by the unlicensed boxer on August 1 last year.

Maidstone Crown Court heard after a brief conversation, Kozlovskis (pictured right) grabbed Mr Gilson and forced him to hand over £30.

Ordering Mr Gilson "not to run", he then took him to a nearby shop to obtain another £30 before fleeing.

The court was told that the following day text messages were sent to Mr Gilson in which he was threatened if he did not retract his police statement.

Kozlovskis, of Maidstone Road, Rochester, admitted robbery and witness intimidation .

However, a judge today rejected his basis of plea that the offence did not occur in Mr Gilson's home and he was not armed with a knife.

Jailing Kozlovskis for six years and eight months, Judge Martin Joy said he had lived an "utterly anti-social" life, with previous convictions for drugs, violence and dishonesty.

"In this case it must have been extremely frightening," he added. "The possession and use of that weapon, the degree of force, the duration of the robbery and the degree of fear that you caused I have taken all into account."

The judge also told father-of-one Kozlovskis that there had to be a consecutive sentence for the offence of intimidation.

"Justice cannot be done unless people are free to report matters without fear of reprisals."

Maidstone crown court
Maidstone crown court

Yanis Kozlovskis was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court

Philip Sinclair, defending, told the court Kozlovskis had acted out of character and that while it was a violent offence, Mr Gilson only sustained a minor graze-like injury.

He also said the texts had been sent by another person as Kozlovskis could not read or write.

However, he was aware of their context.

One said: "This needs to be sorted without violence. Just retract but if he gets nicked and it's because of you, you are dead."

Mr Gilson told police in a victim impact statement that he was "genuinely fearful of reprisals" following the text messages and was concerned for his children.

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