A “dangerous” thief who threatened men at knifepoint in broad daylight before robbing or attempting to rob them of their luxury watches has been jailed.
Over an 11-month period, 24-year-old Muridi Bahdon targeted three watch owners at London stations, stealing a £10,000 Rolex after telling its owner “I’m a killer”, and lunging at another Rolex owner with a large knife.
Inner London Crown Court heard how on July 1 last year, a man was in the queue at a shop in the concourse at Earls Court station when he was approached by Bahdon, who was brandishing a large knife, and demanded the victim hand over his Rolex.
The victim used the jacket he was carrying to fend off Bahdon, who lunged towards him with the knife.
The man then fled to behind the shop counter where he was able to call the police while Bahdon fled.
Three days later, on July 4 at around 1.40pm, a second victim was on a District Line Tube service heading towards Sloane Square.
As he arrived at Victoria Station, Bahdon boarded the train and sat next to him, despite there being plenty of empty seats.
He noticed Bahdon looking at his watch. Feeling “uncomfortable and nervous”, the victim left the train at Sloane Square.
As he looked back to check whether Bahdon stayed on the train, he saw he was rushing towards him. Bahdon grabbed the victim by his shirt and produced a knife, demanding he took off his watch.
The victim tried to escape, almost tearing his shirt off his body and injuring the back of his head, shoulders and legs.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance, though his injuries were determined to be not life-threatening or life-changing.
Police issued an urgent appeal with a CCTV image of Bahdon, and he was later found and arrested.
Following this arrest, Bahdon was linked to another robbery which had happened almost a year earlier.
Shortly after 5.30pm on August 20, 2022, the victim boarded a Tube from Earls Court and entered the carriage where Bahdon was sitting.
Bahdon immediately approached the man, pulled out a folded knife from his pocket, and demanded the victim hand over his watch, telling the victim “I’m a killer.”
Fearing for his life and the safety of other passengers in the carriage, the man handed over his Rolex worth around £10,000.
The victim immediately got off the train at the next station, Gloucester Road.
Bahdon was charged on August 3, 2023, with two counts of attempted robbery, one count of robbery, two counts of threatening a person with an offensive weapon, and possession of an offensive weapon. A jury found him guilty of all charges.
On Tuesday (October 22), at Inner London Crown Court, he was sentenced to eight years in prison with an extended period of five years on licence.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Steve Faulkner said: “Bahdon is a calculating and dangerous offender whose actions will have a life-long impact on his victims. I am glad to see this sentence imposed for his actions and hope this will go some way in helping the victims get closure from these incidents.
“His brazen and determined level of violence were carried out in public, CCTV-heavy settings, meaning we could quickly capture and circulate images to our policing counterparts and the public.”
