Gunman jailed for armed raid on sister's home

A GUNMAN who staged an armed raid on his sister's home - taking her safe after terrifying her schoolgirl daughter - was jailed for nine and a half years today.

A trial at the High Court in Edinburgh heard that Peter Marshall, 39, made no attempt to disguise himself when he levelled what appeared to be a gun at the face of Natasja Smits who was just 15 at the time.

But an accomplice, who has not been traced, had a balaclava pulled low to hide his features.

Mum Petrena Smits, 43, said the contents of the safe were worth around £45,000. There was £20,000 in cash from the sale of her son's business interests in Germany and the rest was jewellery.

Mrs Smits told the court: "That is not why we are here.

"The point is he pointed a gun at my daughter's head. That is what we are here for"

Marshall of West Pilton Road, Edinburgh, denied the robbery at a house in nearby Ferry Road Drive on the evening of March 30, claiming he was at home with his 68-year-old mother.

But a jury, by a majority, rejected his alibi and found him guilty.
Sentencing Marshall, who has a long record for housebreaking, assaults and carrying weapons, judge Lord Uist said he was "a seasoned criminal".
He told Marshall: "This was an outrageous piece of lawlessness which must attract a long sentence."

Natasja - now 16 - told how she was in the house in Ferry Road Drive while her mum visited a friend and went shopping.

She described how Marshall came in after rattling the letter box, together with the man in the balaclava, demanding to know where the safe was hidden.

"He was just holding the gun. He just said 'stop screaming'," she said.

"My uncle said it was not my fault. It was what my parents had done to him," she added.

"He said I shouldn't tell the police or use the phone and stuff like that. He said: 'Dinnae grass me."

She said the whole incident lasted about half an hour, before the man in the balaclava returned to the room, carrying the portable safe which was kept in a wardrobe in her mum's bedroom.

Cleaner Duncan Marsall, 23, who was babysitting his cousin, Natasja gave his evidence protected by screens. "We were scared," he said.

He had gone to the front door but saw no-one when he looked through a spy-hole. He opened the door and the two men pushed their way in, one of them his uncle, Peter Marshall.

"He had something in his hand but he had, like, a cloth thing over it so I couldn't make out what it was properly," said Duncan Marsall.

He said his mobile phone was taken and the battery and SIM card removed.

The court also heard that Duncan Marshall had taken a baseball bat when he went to answer the door because of previous family trouble.

Peter Marshall had also faced a breach of the peace charge alleging he had been shouting and swearing at his sister's house four days before the robbery. But the charge was dropped during the trial, with no explanation of what the row was about.

The court also heard that Marshall was on bail at the time of the robbery but had since been cleared of the minor charges he was facing.