A thief who stole a £145,000 luxury watch after befriending a man over drinks in central London has been jailed.
Lindell Angell, 32, of Hackney, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for robbery and possessing criminal property at Southwark Crown Court on January 20 after being found guilty at the same court last November.
On the evening of January 21, 2022, Angell befriended a 51-year-old man over drinks at a bar off the Strand.
After drinking for two hours, Angell convinced his victim to walk down a dark side street towards Embankment tube station.
Once alone, Agnell repeatedly punched the man and put him in a chokehold until the victim fell unconscious. At that point he took the high value Patek Phillipe watch from the victim’s wrist.
A member of the public later found the victim who had been unconscious for several minutes and suffering severe facial fractures.
Detective Constable Gemma Oganian, who led the investigation, said: “This was a brutal robbery which not only resulted in serious physical harm, but many months after the offence, the victim continues to recover from the psychological trauma.”
“People should be able to walk the streets of London and not fear this type of crime.
“We are doing everything in our power to ensure our streets our safe, and want to strongly reaffirm this to the public we serve. We will proactively investigate and seek tough sentences for offenders like Angell.”
The Met has warned the public to be aware of their surroundings and to keep valuables such as watches out of sight.
After taking over as Met Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley pledged to crack down on burglars and robbers as he looks to restore trust in the force.
