Masked thieves on mopeds smashed a £3 million Bugatti supercar with a hammer and held a machete to a woman’s face during a Mayfair crime spree, a court heard.
Shocking footage caught the moment a 15-year-old boy, dressed as a Deliveroo driver, attacked the side window of Abdullah Al Basman’s Bugatti Chiron as he sat in traffic in Park Lane.
In a series of attempted robberies carried out in just 45 minutes, a man was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked near to Harrods as the thieves tried to steal his Rolex.
Another victim was left impaled on a fence as he fled, and the muggers ultimately got away with a £211,000 Patek Philippe watch snatched from a man’s wrist after he was rammed with a moped, Southwark crown court heard.
Ronnie Reid, 20, from Finsbury Park, north London, is on trial accused of being one of the two moped riders involved in the crime spree on August 21 last year.
A 15-year-old boy has already admitted his part in the robberies, including carrying out the claw hammer attack on Mr Al Basman’s Bugatti.
Prosecutor Dickon Reid said the two thieves wore balaclavas, crash helmets, gloves, and coats to disguise their identities, with stolen numberplates crudely taped to their mopeds.
“The pair were primarily focused on robbing people of expensive wrist watches. They were simply driving around looking for potential targets.” said Mr Reid.
“They were responsible for a series of attempted robberies and one robbery on the afternoon of August 21, 2022, which took place in the Belgravia and Mayfair district of central London.”
Jurors heard the first incident happened at around 4pm, when brothers Justin and Bradley Rizza - both wearing expensive Rolex watches - were walking through Cadogan Square carrying Fortnum and Mason shopping bags.
The teenage boy drove his moped towards the brothers while the other rider attempted to “box them in”, said Mr Reid.
“Justin Rizza was confronted by Reid who screamed aggressively ‘what have you got?’ and tried to get him to hand over items.
“Mr Rizza described trying to seek some form of protection by moving between parked cars, and said the moped rider was trying to run him over.”
The court heard Bradley Rizza tried to vault a fence to escape, but his shoe “became impaled on the spikes and he was suspended upside down”, said the prosecutor.
Undeterred by the failed robberies, the two moped riders rounded on Auday Tokatly 20 minutes later close to Harrods.
Mr Reid said Mr Tokatly was “dragged to the ground, kicked and punched in the head and legs”, but an attempt to steal his Rolex was thwarted when a car turned the corner, giving the victim the chance to flee and seek refuge with Harrods security.
Mr Al Basman, a guest at the five-star Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, was in traffic on Park Lane when his supercar was attacked.
“He heard a loud bang from the driver’s side window,” said Mr Reid. “A member of the public, a motoring enthusiast, was filming the Bugatti, and caught what happened.”
The clip shows the 15-year-old, wearing a Deliveroo jacket, delivering a series of blows to the Bugatti window with a hammer before the two moped riders drive away.
Just minutes later, Michael McKeown was sitting with his wife outside a restaurant when he saw the mopeds approaching.
“He saw the handle of a knife sticking out of Reid’s waist band, and he says he knew what was going to happen,” said the prosecutor.
Mr McKeown, who was wearing a £75,000 Audemars Piguet watch, fled along Curzon Street in Mayfair but was knocked down by another vehicle in his attempt to escape. He was then rammed by the 15-year-old’s moped, and Mr McKeown’s wife Juste had “a machete pointed in her face” when she kicked one of the moped riders in a bid to protect her husband, jurors heard.
The final victim was Andrei Karkar, who was rammed to the ground and attacked in a successful bid to steal his luxury timepiece.
Jurors heard the thieves were tracked back to a garage owned by Reid’s family, close to his north London home.
He admits being at the garage shortly before the masked thieves set off on the crime spree, but denies being one of the riders.
The court heard the 15-year-old, who cannot be identified due to his age, has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, criminal damage, possessing an offensive weapon, robbery and five counts of attempted robbery.
Reid, from Finsbury Park, north London, denies damaging property, two charges of having an offensive weapon, five counts of attempted robbery, dangerous driving, threatening another with an offensive weapon, and robbery.
The trial continues.
