The teens ended up leaving their own mopeds at the scene but the plan went terribly wrong
In a particularly “brazen and audacious” act, two teenagers tried to steal a judge’s £15,000 motorbike from a court carpark.
Shay Hollis, 18, and Deon-Dre Rogers-Barrett, 19, came across the judge’s motorbike – along with an accomplice who remains at large – at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in Redbridge, London.
The pair arrived at the scene on mopeds on 16 April 2021 and began wheeling the BMW R 1250GS Adventure TE Rallye away but were challenged by a member of security.
Hollis threatened the guard with a machete, and fearing he would be seriously injured, he fled inside the court.
The pair then began pushing the motorbike away from the courthouse, but not before security at the court shut the gates, trapping them inside.
This forced them to dump the stolen bike, their own mopeds, helmets, angle grinder and the machete and climb over the fence, fleeing on foot.
Police arrived a short time later, but the trio had fled the scene.
The discarded items were seized, forensically examined and an investigation was started by officers from the Met’s Operation Venice which focuses on tackling moped and motorcycle crime and theft.
One of the discarded mopeds was found to be registered and insured to Rogers-Barrett, while the other items were forensically linked to him and Hollis.
Distinctive clothing worn by Hollis during the offence was found following a search of his home address. Both were arrested on 27 May 2021.
Rogers-Barrett had called police 90 minutes after the robbery to falsely report that he was robbed at knife point of his own moped and mobile phone.
Investigators proved this didn’t happen by reviewing CCTV from the location of the fake robbery.
They also recovered the same phone he reported stolen from his home when he was arrested.
Despite Rogers-Barret, from Enfield, denying knowing Hollis during the interview, the police found images of him on his phone.
Both were charged and remanded in custody until they were sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court.
Rogers-Barrett was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete 25 days rehabilitation activity. He was also given a three month curfew monitored by electronic tag and ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim.
He had previously pleaded guilty to robbery and not guilty to affray.
Hollis, also from Enfield, was sentenced to an 18 month supervision order, ordered to carry out 12 hours of unpaid work, and pay £500 compensation to the victim.
He had pleaded guilty to robbery, criminal damage, threatening a person in a public place with an offensive weapon and affray.
PC Ian Croxford, from the Met’s Operation Venice, said the pair was “intent on stealing a valuable motorcycle in an attempt that can only be described as brazen and audacious. To ride into the grounds of a Crown Court and try this shows a flagrant disregard for the law.”
He added: “That the brave security staff who challenged them were threatened with a machete shows they were not afraid to use violence to get what they wanted.
“This should serve as a warning to anyone concerned in serious criminality that we will investigate and will use every tool at our disposal to bring you to justice.”
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