Islington smash and grab robbers sentenced
Three men have been jailed after a haul of designer bikinis was stolen in a motorbike smash-and-grab raid.
Alfie Hellyer, 22, of Barnsbury Street, Barnsbury, Michael Bryant, 21, of Hawthorne Close, Newington Green and Thomas McDonagh, 21, of River Street, Finsbury, were sentenced on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court and face a total of 18 months in prison between them.
At around 11pm on August 22 last year, Hellyer and another man pulled up on a high-powered motorbike outside Vilebrequin, an upmarket swimwear shop in Chelsea.
The passenger jumped off the bike, smashed the shop window and stole swimming costumes.
Officers from the Westminster Crime Squad went to Hellyer’s house the next day and found all three defendants with the stolen goods.
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Hellyer had keys to the stolen motorbike used in the raid. The three men were arrested and entered guilty pleas at an earlier hearing.
Hellyer pleaded guilty to the burglary and received eight months in prison.
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Bryant and McDonagh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess criminal property and were sentenced to four and six months respectively.
Det Insp Bob Currie, from Westminster Crime Squad, said: “The quick arrests and the weight of evidence gathered against these individuals is testimony to the hard work and tenacity of my officers working on Operation Bruford.”
He added: “I hope that this, coupled with the sentences they received, sends out a message that smash-and-grab burglars will be brought to justice.”
