Teen with Machete Threatened to Cut Off Aled Jones's Arm
Court hears details of robbery in Chiswick
Aled Jones. Picture: @realaled/Twitter
August 24, 2023
TV and radio presenter Aled Jones was threatened with having his arm cut off during a robbery in Chiswick a court has been told.
He was walking along Chiswick High Road at around 5pm on Friday 7 July with his 18-year-old son when they were approached by a youth wielding a machete which he waved in their faces.
The sixteen-year-old, who is not being named for legal reasons, made the threat to get the 52-year-old former chorister to hand over a Rolex Daytona he was wearing. The watch, which is valued at least £17,000, was immediately handed over and the robber made off.
The boy was identified after being caught on a CCTV camera after police looked through hours of footage which revealed that he had stalked Mr Jones for several minutes before carrying out the robbery. They managed to retrieve a usable image of the youth which was then circulated to local officers, two of whom were able to identify him. Police went to his home in Feltham to arrest him.
They found the machete as well as clothing similar to that worn during the robbery but the watch wasn't there and has still hasn't been recovered. Mr Jones’s son later picked him out of an identity parade.
The boy was charged on Friday, 14 July with one count of robbery. He was kept in custody to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court the next day.
He was bailed to appear at Wimbledon Youth Court for trial on Thursday, 24 August. Although he initially denied the charges, he pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon after the court was in session. This meant that Mr Jones and his son were not required to give evidence in court.
The boy was given bail again and the case has been adjourned for reports to be prepared. He is due to appear at another hearing at Ealing Youth Court on 12 September. The judge warned him that, given the serious nature of the offence, the case may be referred to the Crown Court which can hand out tougher sentences.
Detective Chief Inspector Garth Hall, of the West Area Command Unit, said, “Tackling robbery is a priority for the Met and this case shows we will thoroughly investigate and move quickly to arrest those responsible.
“Robbery is a frightening ordeal for victims; people should not be afraid of being forcibly deprived of the things they own. In this case an aggravating feature was that the victim was threatened with injury and a weapon. Thankfully no one was actually injured, but this in no way mitigates the seriousness of such a crime.
“All the officers involved in this investigation worked quickly and efficiently to find the person responsible. Within days we had identified the suspect, arrested them and charged them with the crime. It was excellent work and the result is today, faced with overwhelming evidence, the person responsible has pleaded guilty to the crime.”
The case brought the Chiswick area to national attention with the Daily Mail describing it as 'Fortress Chiswick'. However, robbery rates in local wards are well below the borough and London averages. An uptick in thefts on the High Road during July is believed by local police officers to be an anomaly and incidents of shoplifting, although persistent, are also usually below average for London shopping districts.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |