Robber given four years for carnival spree (From This Is Local London)

Robber given four years for carnival spree

5:55pm Tuesday 9th February 2010 in

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A MAN from Enfield has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for his role in a spate of robberies on the tube after the Notting Hill Carnival.

Dwayne Mattison, 18, of Curzon Avenue, Enfield, was sentenced to three years nine months in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to rob on December 14 last year.

He was one of nine youths who were sentenced on Monday at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The offences took place on the evening of August 24, when the youths robbed passengers of phones and cash in attacks which involved violence and threats of violence.

British Transport Police (BTP) Detective Sergeant Fintan Egan, one of the investigating officers of the West Ham Robbery Squad, said: “After the Carnival, at about 8.30pm, the group travelled towards Oxford Circus on the Bakerloo line, immediately confronting people in the carriages and stealing from them.

“During their journey on the Central line one victim had his mobile phone, watch and 200 Euros taken before he fled the Tube train at Liverpool Street.

“Another man was forced to give up his iPod and wallet as members of the group threatened to harm him.”

Two of the robbers were arrested that night when one of the victims went out in a patrol car with officers and was able to identify his attackers sitting at a bus stop.

The BTP then launched an investigation to track down the other members of the group with CCTV images from trains and stations to match up faces with names.

DS Egan said: “It was vital to the investigation that we uncovered who the two arrested men associated with.

“By exploring the links between the names we had coming through and the pair we had arrested, and matching these suspects to CCTV images from trains and stations we were able to successfully account for all the offenders.

“The robberies that took place on that Sunday evening must have been terrifying for those passengers who were targeted by the group."

“They went on a spontaneous robbery spree with a blatant disregard for the law and I welcome their jail sentences.”