A notorious moped crook from Islington has been jailed for 10 years after robbing a man for his £75,000 watch at knifepoint.

Islington Gazette: Leila Shannon. Picture: Met PoliceLeila Shannon. Picture: Met Police (Image: Archant)

Zuriel Hutson, 24, and a pillion passenger, rode up to the 47-year-old victim in Uphill Road, Barnet, and threatened him with a large hunting knife before demanding his Robert Mille watch, his phone and wallet.

The victim then found the phone near to the scene and police used it to trace Hutson, who lives in Alexander Road, Archway but is originally from Highbury New Park.

Following the attack in October last year, Hutson was found guilty of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon and jailed at Harrow Crown Court on Thursday.

Leila Shannon, 19, of Aubert Park, Highbury, admitted assisting an offender and was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years. She had allowed Hutson to hide in her home and helped hide the knife and moped used in the robbery.

The watch has not been recovered, and the pillion passenger has not been traced.

Sgt Callum Rodgers, of Operation Venice, the Met's taskforce targeting moped enabled crime, said: "This was a terrifying robbery by a ruthless offender who targeted his victim and threatened serious violence to rob the man of his watch."

Zuriel Hutson, along with his twin Cavell, have committed a string of moped snatches in and around Islington in recent years.

Zuriel was jailed for two-and-a-half years in April 2017 for conspiracy to steal and for breaching a criminal behaviour order.

He was caught by police after careering down the wrong side of the M11 at 90mph following a phone snatch.

Cavell was jailed for more than three years in 2016 after stealing 21 phones in an hour and leading police on a chase through Ridley Road Market in Dalston.

Police told the Gazette two years ago that because the twins have the same DNA, every time they traced an offence back to one of them, they were forced to arrest both - rather than spend thousands on complex forensic work.

The only exception is their fingerprints, which are unique.

Zuriel was back in court again in June 2017 for keeping an exotic monkey in a cage in his bedroom. He was found guilty of failing to ensure the welfare of an animal he was responsible for.

Hutson refused to tell cops the animal's name, but she found happiness in Monkey World, Dorset, under the moniker Amy.