A notorious phone snatcher, Sonny Stringer, has been sentenced to two years in prison following his arrest by the City of London Police, according to a statement on the police’s website on Monday, August 12, 2024.
Stringer was arrested with a bag containing 22 mobile phones while two other phones were recovered after tactical contact was made with his electric motorbike.
He was sentenced at the Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
The statement noted that at about 11.15 am on March 26, 2024, a woman (name undisclosed) reported to the police that her iPhone 15 was snatched from her while standing on the Blackfriars Bridge.
The police directed its operatives to track down the criminals after detecting them via the city’s CCTV
The statement read, “Stringer, 28, was intercepted by City of London police officers as he and an unknown accomplice rode into the city at speed on electric motorbikes on March 26.
“At around 11.15 am, a woman was standing on Blackfriars Bridge when her iPhone 15 was snatched from her hand. It was quickly reported to the police; control officers picked up the criminals on the city’s camera network and directed officers to begin searching for them.”
The Chief Superintendent, City of London, William Duffy, noted that the successful operation was a testament to the city police’s commitment to “detecting and bringing to justice those who steal from people on our streets.”
He said, “Phone snatching has a significant impact on victims and it is right that Stringer received a custodial sentencing for snatching mobiles on London’s streets.
“The successful capture and prosecution of a prolific phone snatcher shows the City of London Police’s focus on detecting and bringing to justice those who steal from people on our streets.
“This was a team effort from our control team following the criminals on CCTV and communicating with officers on the ground, to response officers making risk-critical decisions to protect the public and effect an arrest. Not forgetting our investigators tracking down victims from across London, returning valuable mobile phones and ensuring a guilty verdict.”
The police chief urged the public to stay on alert at all times and reduce the frequency at which they use their phones outside.
“We would urge people to be aware of their surroundings when using their mobile phones on the street. Limit the opportunities for criminals to target you by reducing the number of times you have your phones out while in the street,” Duffy advised.
The police statement revealed that Stringer was given “20 months to run concurrently for each of the theft charges. He was also given an additional four months for dangerous driving. Sentencing took place at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, August 8.”
Explaining how the arrest was made, Control Officer Lynn Newins, narrated, “I took a call from a member of the public who had witnessed a phone snatching on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge. My colleague, Damon, said he had the suspects on our cameras. I quickly started relaying information to officers on the ground.
“In the control room, we can manage the position of the cameras ourselves, which is very useful and speeds up our ability to track criminals. We spun the cameras around on Cheapside and updated officers on the phone snatchers’ path. I remember saying that they were ‘going like the clappers’ and could see members of the public having to avoid being hit by them.
“When we saw that officers had apprehended one of the suspects, it was a huge sense of achievement for all those involved. Working in control – you sometimes don’t hear about the success stories as they tend to happen later, so to be a part of it and see that they recovered so many phones was a big win.”
Newins recalled that she had spoken to several phone snatching victims “and the loss of their phones is devastating to them.
“People have their worlds on their phones and it isn’t a minor crime to them. I spoke to one of the victims who called to say we had their phone. It was nice to know that we played a role in getting it back to them.”
