Moped muggers who snatched a terrified commuter’s handbag have been jailed for a total of seven years.
Recco Williams, 21, and 18-year-old Reuben Blakeway targeted the 24-year-old woman as she walked home from Streatham Common railway station in south London on the evening of February 15th this year.
They mounted the pavement on a moped and the pillion passenger violently snatched her handbag, containing an iPhone and several credit cards, wrenching it from her shoulder and pulling her to the ground before speeding off.
A passer-by came to the victim’s aid and she called the police from his phone.
The victim managed to cancel two of the cards, but she received notification from her bank that one of her others cards had been used three times in a supermarket and shop in nearby Tooting not long after the robbery.
She was able to get a printout of the transactions and passed the information to police.
Detectives were then able to download CCTV from the shops at the times given by the bank for when the cards were used, which identified Williams and Blakeway.
Williams was arrested at his home in Tooting eight days after the robbery.
Blakeway handed himself in at a south London police station a few days later.
Williams was sentenced to a total of four years and 10 weeks in jail for robbery, three counts of fraud and breach of a suspended sentence order.
Blakeway, also of Tooting, was jailed for a total of two years, 11 months and one week for the same offences.
Detective Constable Jack Kraushaar, who investigated the case, said: “Police are working hard to keep the public safe and make the streets hostile territory for criminals who use scooters to snatch valuables from members of the public.
“This was a fantastic result, which has seen vicious scooter robbers receive lengthy prison time.
“These sentences send out a strong message that such incidents will be dealt with robustly by the Met and by the courts.”
By Ben Gelblum and Stephen Beech
