Three men who believed they were above the law and were tracked down by detectives following a complex investigation have been jailed after conspiring to commit robberies in Greenwich and Bromley.
Two of those men were found guilty of conspiring to commit a robbery where a toddler was held at knife point at a residential address in Greenwich.
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These were shocking incidents which would have been extremely traumatic for those involved.
“This was an immensely complex investigation which demanded dedication and skill to manage the extensive amount of communication data and evidence. Our officers have worked day and night to achieve this outcome.
“Thanks to the complex investigative work by the Flying Squad, these extremely dangerous men will instead be spending time behind bars.”
Two of the men were sentenced after being found guilty following a five-week trial ending in June:
Kwesi Caven, 39 (04.08.84) of Priolo Road, Greenwich, was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of handling stolen goods.
Elijah McPhee-Young, 25 (07.06.98) of Grant Road, Harrow was sentenced to six years and six months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit robbery and an article with a blade or point, namely a knife.
A further man, Lewis Dormer, 38 (23.08.85) of Layland Road, Lambeth pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to seven years and two months’ imprisonment.
They were sentenced on, Friday, 13 October, at the Inner London Crown Court.
On 20 August 2020 McPhee-Young and Caven drove a stolen car at speed in Middle Park Avenue, Mottingham towards a security guard. He was on foot transporting cassettes containing thousands of pounds of cash into a ‘Cash and Valuables in Transit’ van.
The guard was approached by McPhee-Young who was wearing a scarf across the lower half of his face. He was holding a large serrated knife which was pointed at the guard. The guard dropped the cassette container and McPhee-Young picked it up and ran to the awaiting car which was being driven by Caven.
The car was later recovered by officers in Green End Road, Eltham; a forensic analysis of the vehicle provided a link to McPhee-Young. They also discovered green and black dye covering the front passenger seat.
A further offence took place on Monday, 15 November 2021. The male victim was at his home address in Greenwich with his three-year-old son.
Dormer and Caven entered the address and ordered the victim to hand over money. One of the suspects picked up the young boy and threatened: “if you don’t give me the money, I will cut him up.” The victim handed over £10,000 in cash which had been recently withdrawn. They then used cable ties and bound his hands; he was only able to free himself once his partner had returned home.
Officers discovered that a tracker had been placed on the victim’s car by the group seven days prior to the offence enabling the group to monitor its movements.
Detectives from the Flying Squad launched an investigation including a surveillance operation after McPhee-Young had been identified as a suspect. Further telephone investigations were carried out which led to the identification of Caven. Additionally, Caven’s forensics were identified on the tracking device found on the victim’s car.
They also discovered Caven was involved in the handling of two stolen vehicles between 5 May 2020 and 22 August 2020.
Dormer was identified after it was established this had been used to travel to and from the offence in Greenwich.
In July 2022 all three men were arrested by detectives and charged as above.
