Two thieves who stabbed four members of the public in the City of London when a mobile phone robbery spree was heroically thwarted have been jailed.
Louis Parkinson, 26, and Tyrone Dean, 24, armed themselves with a knife as they cycled into central London, hunting for unsuspecting victims.
The “brazen” crime spree started in Fitzrovia, where one man was stabbed in the arm as he bravely tried to retrieve his stolen phone.
A short time later, at the scene of a second robbery in Bishopsgate, several members of the public heroically stood in the way of the robbers and attempted to apprehend them.
A courier was stabbed three times in the chest and suffered a collapsed lung, a woman lost the use of her hand after being knifed in the arm, and a City broker was scarred for life when he was stabbed in the face - as he bravely stared down one of the thieves.
At Inner London crown court on Thursday, Judge Benedict Kelleher sentenced both Dean and Parkinson to 12 years in prison.
“You acted with appalling violence”, said the judge.
“The incident caused widespread concern and national media coverage. It was a truly shocking example of mindless violence and utter lawlessness.”
The two men will serve at least two-thirds of their prison sentences, and an extra five years on licence once released.
Footage from eyewitnesses and CCTV captured the scene as it unfolded in Bishopsgate was played in court during the sentencing hearing.
“These two defendants embarked on a brazen spree - snatching mobile telephones from people going about their morning business”, said prosecutor Sam Barker.
“When civic-minded members of the public sought to apprehend them, the defendants caused them savage injuries with a knife in their frantic attempts to escape.”
The first victim, Paul Grange, was struck on the side of the head as his phone was grabbed by Dean in Fitzrovia at roughly 9am on October 6 last year, and he was cut on the arm as he and another man bravely tried to apprend the thief.
CCTV caught the two muggers later cycling past the Ritz hotel, Piccadilly Circus, and St Paul’s Cathedral while looking for more potential victims.
In Bishopsgate, the violence dramatically escalated after second victim Nicholas Badger’s phone had been snatched by Dean.
Matthew McEwen was the first bystander to intervene, knocking Dean’s bike into a bollard and then tripping him up before the two men began “grappling”. He was then punched in the head and knocked to the ground by Parkinson, Inner London crown court heard.
The two thieves attempted to cycle away but more members of the public – Alison Sanders, William Allison, and Vladimir Konstaninidis - rushed into the fray to stop them.
“There then followed a melee, in which a number of brave members of the public sought to capture the two thieves”, said Mr Barker.
He said Mr Allison tried to pull Parkinson’s rucksack from his back, before another member of the public, Henry Charlton-Weedy “dived into the melee from the side and ripped the rucksack from Mr Parkinson’s back”.
Dean, now branishing the knife, rushed towards the fight in a bid to free Parkinson, and he stabbed Mr Konstantinidis three times in the torso in the ensuing tussle.
The court heard he suffered a collapsed lung, and in an impact statement he said: “I wasn’t able to leave my house for around six weeks due to suffering from such pain and extreme tiredness.”
The self-employed courier said he had to use his savings to live off when he was not able to work in the aftermath of the stabbing.
Ms Sanders was stabbed in the arm as she tackled Dean to stop him fleeing and another person who joined the fray, Samuel Bawden, was punched in the face and nearly stabbed in the stomach.
The court heard Mr Charlton-Weedy was slashed across the face as he made a determined effort to stop Parkinson from fleeing.
“Mr Charlton-Weedy stood face-to-face with Mr Parkinson with the bicycle between them”, said the prosecutor.
“Mobile telephone footage from a passenger on a bus captures the moment that Mr Parkinson raised his right hand high above his head, with the knife held within it. He then is shown to bring it down with full force into Mr Charlton-Weedy’s right cheek, causing a slash injury.
“Refusing to release the bicycle even though he had been stabbed inthe face, Mr Charlton-Weedy can be seen to realise the injury he has sustained, and move his hand to his cheek. Mr Parkinson aimed further stabs towards Mr Charlton-Weedy.”
In her victim statement, Ms Sanders said she lost the use of her hand, needed help with simple tasks such as eating and showering, and told the court she may never play the piano again.
“I used to play piano regularly in church. I enjoyed it and it meant a lot to me. It’s hard to think I may never be able to play the piano in the way I used it”, she said.
City broker Mr Charlton-Weedy needed 52 stitches to the wound in his face, and has been left permanently scarred.
“Every single time I look at myself or see a photo, there’s a negative association with the trauma I have suffered”, said the father-of-two.
“It delves far deeper than being a scar.
“It was a completely frenzied attack with no control or calculation - it could easily have left me blind or worse, dead.”
The court heard the two thieves eventually got away and “went to ground” in a Finsbury Park Travelodge, as news of the incident spread on the news.
Dean was on police bail at the time of the crime spree, and the court heard both defendants have length criminal records which started when they were youths.
Both offered apologies to the victims of the stabbings.
Dean told a probation officer he set out on the robbery spree with the simple aim of “getting money quickly”
Dean, of Willow Walk, Haringey, north London, admitted robbery, possession of a knife, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, theft, two counts of wounding, Attempting to Wound, and possession of Cannabis.
Parkinson, of Catherall Street, Highbury, north London, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a knife, attempting to wound, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and possession of cannabis.
