They then subjected two men to a terrifying robbery, claiming to have a gun and warning that they were a ‘good shot’
14:06, 25 Jun 2026
Jason McKinney, of Denman Drive, aged 26(Image: Merseyside Police)
Two hungry burglars made themselves a round of toast after breaking into a flat. Jason McKinney and his accomplice enjoyed the light snack while plundering around £2,500 of electronic goods from the property.
They were then said to have subjected two other men to a terrifying robbery, in which they claimed to be armed with a gun and threatened to shoot their victims. This saw his co-accused warn them not to flee as he was a “good shot”, leading to one of their targets running away in a zig zag motion while apparently fearing that the supposed weapon would be fired after him.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, that Don Grainger left his flat on Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead in order to visit family on November 7 2024. However, later the same day, a neighbour informed him that his front door had been smashed in, having apparently been kicked down by intruders.
Sarah Egan, prosecuting, described how Mr Grainger thereafter returned home to find that drawers in his living room and bedrooms had been emptied, while crumbs left on the kitchen countertop appeared to indicate that the burglars had prepared food for themselves during the break-in before smashing a plate. Goods valued at a total of around £2,500, including an Xbox, a Nintendo Switch, controllers, headphones, a security camera and the victim’s passport, were taken from the address during the incident.
McKinney, of Denman Drive in Tuebrook, was later linked to the crime via fingerprint evidence. Six days after the burglary, at around 10.30pm on November 13, friends Benjamin Hughes and Callum Wyatt were returning home from Southport via train, alighting at Formby Station.
They were thereafter walking along Ennerdale Road when they heard a man shout “yo”, before finding two masked males in front of them. While co-defendant Callum McCaughery was labelled the “ringleader” as they were robbed of their phones, McKinney was said to have “seemed to be more nervous”, having been “actually shaking while he spoke”.
Ms Egan detailed how the former claimed to have a gun and boasted that he was a “good shot”, warning Mr Hughes and Mr Wyatt “not to run, or they would be shot”. Having handed over their mobiles, he then added: “Give us the password, or something’s going to happen”.
With the complainants subsequently being walked towards a wooded area, McCaughery was alleged to have prodded an item into Mr Wyatt’s back as Mr Hughes begged “please don’t do this”. At this, he was warned to “shut up”, told that they “had friends in a car nearby” and threatened that they would be “slashed up”.
The two phones having been factory reset, McCaughery then pocketed both devices before threatening to follow the men home. Mr Wyatt was ultimately able to run away in a “zig zag motion”, at which stage Mr Hughes was “put into a chokehold” by the same defendant before being freed and “running home as quickly as he could”.
McKinney went on to sell one of the mobiles at CeX in Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle the following day, later returning in the company of McCaughery in order to sell the second device. Weapons including an imitation firearm were subsequently recovered from their then shared address upon their arrests, also “neither accepted that the weapons were theirs” and their DNA was not found on the items.
McCaughery, of Ruthven Road in Litherland, was ultimately not charged with robbery in relation to the incident after it was deemed that there was “insufficient evidence” to do so, with the 25-year-old instead fined for handling stolen goods and possession of cannabis by magistrates in April. But Ms Egan said of his involvement: “It is clear that McCaughery was the leader in this enterprise and made the majority of the threats.”
McKinney meanwhile has 28 previous convictions for 49 offences, including burglary in 2023 and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in March 2025. Brendan Carville, defending the 26-year-old, told the court that his client had served a two-year prison sentence since November 2024, adding: “It is easy to blame the other man when he is not there. He was the lead offender. This defendant was physically shaking and did not want to take the phone. He felt, once there, that he was stuck with it.”
McKinney admitted two counts of burglary and one of robbery. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for a total of 37 months.
Sentencing, Recorder Anna Pope KC said of the burglary: “You and your associate were working together. There was an untidy search. It would appear that you made yourself some toast. Within around six days, you went on to commit further offences, it would appear with the same associate.
“Both of you were wearing masks. The other man, it would appear, took the lead. One of you pressed an item into his back. He was afraid that it was a real gun. They were afraid that they would be shot, stabbed or assaulted. Certainly, one of the men describes you as shaking. The prosecution accept that you were not the leader of this pair.
“You are still young. There has been a substantial delay in this being brought to court. In the mean time, you have served a two-year sentence. You were homeless. A friend told you that they were going to burgle the property, and you went along. The same friend committed the robbery.
“It is right to say that you have expressed remorse and regret. You have suffered a difficult upbringing. You have your own mental health and physical needs.”
