Brutal thugs terrorised West Lothian schoolchildren during horrific ordeal

A pair of callous crooks who subjected families to terrifying robbery ordeals in their own homes have been jailed for 19 years.

Patrick Mooney and sidekick Patrick Keenan carried out a string of and robberies across Scotland, targeting families of small business owners who they believed kept large sums of cash.

The pair, aged 41 and 23, are believed to have struck up to five times but have been brought to justice for two sickening incidents.

Mooney, who is of no fixed abode, was jailed for 10 years at the High Court in Paisley while Keenan, of Newbridge, was handed nine years.

Patrick Keenan, from Edinburgh's Newbridge, was jailed for nine years

They first struck in East Calder in February 2021, breaking into a flat where two girls aged just eight and 12 were watching TV while their father was downstairs in the restaurant where he worked.

One of the children initially heard a loud bang and other noise before being confronted by two men.

They were armed with a spade and ordered the girls into a bedroom.

Prosecutor John Keenan said: "They were told: 'Tell us where the money is'. Both were terrified."

Mooney - jailed for ten years

After Keenan and Mooney fled with cash, the girls raised the alarm.

The pair’s crime spree then saw them break into a house in Chryston, Glasgow, where they were handed £5,000 by the terrified occupants.

The husband heard his wife screaming before their patio doors were smashed in by Mooney and Keenan who were clutching a pole and baseball bat.

The victims were told: "Shut up or I will kill you."

Keenan and Mooney pled guilty to assault and robbery during a brief hearing which was told both properties had been deliberately targeted.

Jailing Mooney and Keenan, judge Lord Arthurson said: “These crimes, which were violent, targeted, concerted and obviously carefully planned in their nature, involved the masking by you of your faces with balaclavas, the forcing of entry into the domestic homes of persons, including children, unknown to you, and the use by you of a variety of weapons, namely a spade, a metal pole and a baseball bat.”

Lord Arthurson said repeat offender Keenan had 11 previous offences and had been jailed in 2019 for housebreaking and theft. He was freed under early release when the home invasions were carried out.

Mooney had 21 previous convictions, including two for housebreaking and theft. He was also convicted of carrying a knife in 2005.

The judge said both would be on licence and under supervision, adding: "It is necessary to protect the public from the risk which each of you would present on your release from the custodial parts of your sentences.”Following the case, Detective Inspector Kevin Tait, of Edinburgh Division CID, said: “Abduction and robberies within someone’s home are very intrusive crimes. Mooney and Keenan targeted their victims, planned their attacks and had no regard for the impact that these crimes have on the victim and their families.

"Thankfully crimes of this violent nature are not a common occurrence and this was a great example of the positive relationship we have with the public who provided important information which assisted our enquiries.”