A 18-year-old man from Northolt has been sentenced to 31 months in prison for his part in connection with robberies and attempted robberies in the seaside town of Lowestoft.
Isaiah Lester of Cranberry Close appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on 20 April 2023 along with Muhamadu Conte who was sentenced to 31 months in prison.
Lester was given 18 months imprisonment for unrelated drug offences which was for intent to supply class A drugs and being in the concerned of the supply of class A drugs. Both will be served consecutively with a total sentence of 49 months.
Both men had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.
The crimes were all committed on 30 August 2022. According to police, at around 9pm, two teenage boys were in a park off Raglan Street in Lowestoft when they were approached by two males wearing balaclavas who threatened them and searched their pockets, demanding their phones.
The boys offered their phones but the suspects said they were not happy with these and threatened injury if the boys didn’t give them a better phone.
One of the victims said he could give them an iPhone 7, which he had left at an address off Denmark Road and the group walked there together.
On the way they were met by another teenage boy on a bicycle who had arranged to meet his friends.
His phone was also not accepted by the suspects.
Once the iPhone 7 was handed over, the suspects took the bicycle – a green Carrera Vengeance – from the third boy and rode away.
The second offence occurred around 9.30pm that same evening. The suspects rode into the Britten Centre on the stolen bicycle and approached a group of youths who were listening to music on a phone. They demanded the phone, which has handed over but later dropped by the suspects.
Around the same time, another teenage boy was walking past the group and the suspects threatened him and demanded his phone. He resisted and was punched to the head, causing him to drop his iPhone XR. The boy ran from the scene, towards London Road North, briefly chased by one of the suspects.
Police were called and upon reviewing CCTV footage, Conte and Lester were identified as the suspects. Lester was arrested on 5 September 2022 and charged the following day; Conte was arrested on 20 September and charged the following day.
PC Ian McBrearty, of East CID said: “Robbery is a violent crime that can have a lasting impact on victims. Lester and Conte targeted teenage boys, threatening to hurt them if their phones were not handed over. This would have been a very frightening experience for the victims, one of whom sustained minor injury after being assaulted.”
PC McBrearty added: “Tackling violence on our streets is a priority for Suffolk Constabulary and these arrests and the subsequent sentences shows our commitment in keeping our communities safe.”
