Shocking moment watch thief attacks victim to rob his £145,000 Patek Phillipe watch after befriending him and taking him for drinks
- Lindell Angell, 32, was found guilty of robbery and possessing criminal property
- On January 21, Angell befriended the victim, 51, on the Strand, central London
- The pair had drinks for two hours and swapped phone numbers before leaving
- Angell convinced the victim to go down a dark side street towards Embankment
This is the shocking moment a watch thief attacked his victim and robbed his £145,000 Patek Phillipe after befriending him.
Lindell Angell, 32, of Amhurst Road, Hackney, was found guilty of robbery and possessing criminal property at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.
On January 21, Angell befriended the 51-year-old victim on the Strand, central London, engaging with him and convincing him to go to a nearby bar.
The pair had drinks for two hours and swapped phone numbers before leaving to head home.
Angell convinced the victim to go down a dark side street towards Embankment Tube, where he then launched an unprovoked and violent attack on the victim, placing him in a chokehold and repeatedly punching him until he fell unconscious.
This is the shocking moment a watch thief attacked his victim and robbed his £145,000 Patek Phillipe after befriending him
Lindell Angell (pictured), 32, of Amhurst Road, Hackney, was found guilty of robbery and possessing criminal property at Southwark Crown Court on Monday
At this point Angell removed the victim’s high-value watch from his wrist and made off.
A member of the public found the victim and called the London Ambulance Service.
The victim was unconscious for several minutes and suffered facial fractures.
CCTV imagery and phone work were used to identify Angell who was then the subject of a manhunt by the Proactive Robbery Team.
He was actively evading police but on February 6 the team located and arrested Angell in a hotel room on Euston Road in central London.
Further searches located a secure lock-up, hired out six days after the offence, where a large amount of cash was found and seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
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.
On January 21, Angell befriended the 51-year-old victim on the Strand, central London, engaging with him and convincing him to go to a nearby bar
Angell convinced the victim to go down a dark side street towards Embankment Tube, where he then launched an unprovoked and violent attack on the victim, placing him in a chokehold and repeatedly punching him until he fell unconscious
Proactive Robbery Team located a secure lock-up, hired out six days after the offence, where a large amount of cash was found and seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act
‘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 are safe, and want to strongly reaffirm this to the public we serve.
‘We will proactively investigate and seek tough sentences for offenders like Angell’.
Detective Superintendent Tor Garnett, lead for Central West Local Investigations, said: ‘This is a great example of the skill of our detectives in catching and convicting violent robbers who target innocent members of the public.
‘Our dedicated watch robbery team will continue to proactively seek out these offenders and bring them to justice.’
Prosecution Counsel, Sue Obeney, said: ‘Angell had purported to befriend the victim, spent a couple of hours in a pub, accepting his generosity, and finished by robbing and leaving him unconscious on the road.
‘At every turn he denied responsibility for the robbery’.
Angell will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on January 13, 2023.
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