Moped gang exposed by Amanda Holden jailed for total of 67 years
The gang's members receive sentences of up to 13 years after going on a prolific crime spree in the capital.
Tuesday 14 May 2019 07:09, UK
A moped gang that ram-raided shops and threatened to hurt a woman's child and "take him away" have been jailed for a total of 67 years.
A dozen members of the London gang used the bikes, which were often stolen or had fake number plates, to make a quick getaway.
Their crime spree included blocking the road and trying to cut away TV cameras that were on Putney Bridge for the university boat race.
Three of the gang were caught in May last year after they all jumped on one bike and were chased for 90 minutes through 10 London boroughs by police cars and a helicopter.
Britain's Got Talent star Amanda Holden urged people to help catch the "scumbags" after CCTV showed four of the gang trying to rob a mother who was with her three-year-old son.
Kingston Crown Court heard that John McFadyen, 24, grabbed the woman's arm and told her: "Give me your rings. I'm going to hurt your child and take him away."
She dragged her son out of reach, before builders with scaffolding poles chased the gang away during the incident in Richmond in June 2018.
The gang's prolific rap sheet also included a violent assault on a security guard during one of two raids on a clothing shop in upmarket Kensington High Street.
More than £40,000 of stock was taken.
A company in the same area lost £83,000 worth of MacBooks and other Apple products during another raid
The court heard how their attempt to cut cameras from Putney Bridge in March 2018 failed after they were challenged by off-duty police officer Steven Wagstaff.
Judge Georgina Kent said: "One of the riders rode at Mr Wagstaff, kicking out with his foot.
"Another threatened to stab him and one of the pillion (passengers) threatened to stab him with the angle grinder."
An hour later, however, they were successful in stealing another camera near Barnes Bridge.
Worth an estimated £180,000, it has never been recovered.
They extended their crime spree outside the capital in January last year, stealing three motorbikes worth £30,000 from Redditch in Worcestershire after the owner accidentally put his address on eBay.
Police say catching the gang has helped cut moped-enabled crime in the capital by 52% in the space of a year.
The gang members were aged 19 to 36. The longest sentence of 13 years and two months went to 32-year-old Terry Marsh.
The other sentences were:
:: Omar Tafat, 22: Eight years and five months
:: Josh Strong-Myers, 20: Eight years
:: Kian Taylor, 20: Nine years and four months
:: Steven Weller, 36: Six years and seven months
:: Ryan Moran, 26: 24 months suspended sentence
:: John McFadyen, 24: Two years and eight months
:: Isaac McFadyen, 19: Two years and eight months
:: Mitchall Leaver, 25: 12 months suspended sentence
:: Aaron Pask, 27: Six years and eight months
:: Scott Leaver, 25: Four years and eight months
:: Ram Monk, 23: Two years and eight months