A pair of violent Londoners who mugged teenagers for their phones in a pretty Suffolk seaside town have been jailed for over six years. Muhamadu Conte, 20, and Isaiah Lester, 18, were sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday, April 20 after pleading guilty to three counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.
Conte of Lancaster Drive, Havering, was given two years and 11 months, while Lester of Cranberry Close, Ealing, was handed two years and seven months. Lester also got 18 months for unrelated drugs offences including intent to supply class A drugs – to be served consecutively – making a total sentence of four years and one month.
The robberies were all committed on August 30 2022 when the balaclava clad twosome approached a pair of teenagers in a park off Raglan Street in Lowestoft at around 9pm. They threatened them, searched their pockets, and demanded their phones. The victims offered what they had but the suspects weren’t satisfied and threatened them with injury if they didn’t give them a better phone.
One of the victims promised an iPhone 7 from an address off Denmark Road so the group walked there together. En route they were met by another teenage boy on a bicycle who had arranged to meet his friends, but his phone was also not accepted by the suspects. Once the iPhone 7 was handed over, the suspects took the green Carrera Vengeance bicycle from the third boy and rode away.
At around 9:30pm, 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 following enquiries and reviewing CCTV footage, Conte and Lester were identified as the suspects. Lester was arrested on September 5 2022 and charged the following day; Conte was arrested on September 20 and charged the following day.
PC Ian McBrearty, from Suffolk Police, 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.
“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.”
Got a crime story? Email callum.cuddeford@reachplc.com.
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