Boy dressed as a woman jailed for armed robbery in London, England

A 17-year-old boy who dressed as a woman to commit an armed robbery on a HattonGarden jewellers has been sentenced today (Friday 23 July) with two other juveniles.

The trio received an overall sentence of 17 years imprisonment at Blackfriars Crown Court having all previously pleaded guilty to their offences.

They are:

[A] A 17-year-old, from Southall – sentenced to six years for robbery.

[B] A 17-year-old male, from Hounslow – sentenced to five years for robbery.

[C] A 15-year-old male, from Milton Keynes – sentenced to six years for robbery; and three years for possession of an imitation firearm. Sentences are to run concurrently.

The court heard how the three, along with a fourth suspect, committed an armed robbery on the afternoon of Saturday 13 March at ‘George and Co Jewellers’, 88-90 Hatton Gardens EC1.

CCTV showed [A] approaching the venue disguised as a woman, wearing a green flowery dress, straw boater and heels, and carrying a red handbag.

He pressed the buzzer and, being mistaken for a female, was permitted entry into the premises. Instead of going into the shop he held the door while [B] and the unidentified male [D] – dressed in blue boiler suits, high visibility jackets, white face masks, protective glasses and orange hard hats – ran in.

The shop was full of staff and customers at the time.

[B] intimated he had a firearm up his sleeve, pointing it towards one of the customers and shouting: "Put your hands in the air".

He and [D] smashed the display cabinets with hammers, placing the jewellery in yellow bags.

At this point [C] entered the shop, producing a Mac 10 machine gun from his holdall and pointing it at customers and staff, while [B] and [D] continued to ransack the shop and [A] held the door to allow a swift exit.

When the robbery was complete all four left the shop, [C] and [D] turning right and [A] and [B] heading in the opposite direction. These two were pursued along HattonGarden by members of the public and private security staff.

[B] was caught and detained until the arrival of police.

During the chase [A] dropped his handbag, but managed to escape.

Found inside the bag was a loose name tag bearing [A]’s name. It is believed the tag had been attached to a pair of trousers also found within the bag.

On 26 April officers from Finchley Flying Squad attended [A]’s home address and arrested him. He claimed he had not wanted to take part in the robbery, but had been forced to do so under duress. The jury rejected this claim.

[C] was arrested on 30 April at his home address.

It is believed the estimated value of the jewellery stolen – some of which was later recovered – is £25,000.

DI David Malcom said: "The ruthlessness of these individuals, especially given their young ages, is shocking and today’s sentences indicate the danger they posed. The use of a Mac 10 during the offence is of great concern and I would appeal to anyone who has information about the weapon to contact Finchley Flying Squad on 020 8358 1751."

"Today’s result is the culmination of a meticulous investigation by my team and demonstrates our commitment to tackling gun crime and holding those responsible to account for their actions."