Phone thief tackled by Beadle after being caught with blind woman’s phone jailed

A prolific mobile phone thief who was caught with a blind woman’s stolen device during a morning crime spree has been jailed – after being taken down by a ceremonial Beadle.

Oliver Brady, 27, of Edmonton, north London, was sentenced to two years and three months at the Old Bailey on Friday after admitting to a string of offences committed on February 6.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, seven counts of handling stolen goods, driving without a licence or insurance, and breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).

He was also found guilty of assaulting assistant Beadle Alex South, who helped detain him outside Haberdashers’ Hall in the City of London.

During the rampage, Brady stole two phones from pedestrians – including one from IT worker Nicky Jones – and was later found in possession of seven others, many of which had been reported stolen earlier that morning.

One of the phones in his possession belonged to a blind woman who had it snatched from her hand earlier in the day, causing her to fall to the ground.

Brady was not charged with stealing her phone, but admitted handling stolen goods in relation to it.

Brady, riding an illegal electric bike, was stopped by security staff at Haberdashers’ Hall who had seen him grab a phone from a passer-by.

During the struggle, he punched one of the guards and began discarding the phones he was carrying.

He was arrested by police at the scene and found with a quantity of cash and tin foil – which the court heard can be used to wrap phones to stop them being tracked.

He claimed he used the foil to wrap his knee.

Prosecutor Neil Sturman said Brady had 40 previous convictions for 74 offences, including persistent breaches of a criminal behaviour order intended to prevent the kind of offending “that Mr Brady appears in court for today.”

He told the court: “Whilst the values of the phones are unknown, the impact the Crown seeks to highlight is the enormous amount of personal data on these phones, and the loss of one can cause significant disruption to one’s life.”

Mr Sturman said Brady had a “general tendency to violence”, and his previous convictions included possession of a controlled drug and threatening and abusive behaviour.

Defending, Malcolm Duxbury told the court: “I don’t deny for one minute that this gentleman, at the age of 27, has an appalling criminal record.”

He said Brady had once hoped to become a professional footballer before his life was derailed.

“The offending started, unfortunately, because this gentleman wanted to be a professional footballer and was going down that road – until he was the victim of a stabbing,” Mr Duxbury said.

“Unfortunately, after that, offending began and it hasn’t stopped. He developed a reliance on heroin and cocaine.”

He added that Brady had relapsed following his last prison sentence, but had begun taking a more positive path while in custody.

Judge Lynn Tayton KC said: “It’s fair to say that you have had a difficult time of it and are trying to change, and I hope that’s right because you’re still very young and you still have the whole of your life ahead of you.

“The inconvenience when someone loses their mobile phone is enormous in our current life.”

The court heard Brady had been held in custody since February 2, largely on recall, but had begun taking courses in prison and expressed a desire to turn his life around.

Brady, wearing a grey prison-issue jumpsuit, showed no emotion as he was handed his sentence.

One of his victims, Nicky Jones, 51, told the PA news agency she was just metres from her workplace when Brady struck.

“It was 9.30am and I was five metres from the entrance when the guy came at me from the right and snatched my phone in a second,” she said.

“I shouted ‘stop’ and the Beadle jumped on him. He kept trying to get on his bike – every time they pushed him back over. We moved the bike and surrounded him against a wall.

“He threw the eight phones he had onto the floor – I assume he didn’t want them on him when the police arrived.”

Ms Jones, from Ascot, said the experience left her shaken.

She added: “I was disgusted. This is people’s lives. I don’t understand how people are out here doing this.

“If it hadn’t been for that Beadle, I would have lost everything.

“I was really shaken up – later that day I had to go to another part of London and didn’t want to use my phone outside.

“I don’t like getting my mobile out any more. It’s made me a lot more wary. I was really grateful to get it back.”

Several of the phones were returned to their owners, but three remain unclaimed.

Detective Sergeant Dominic Lawson, from the City of London Police, said: “The successful capture and prosecution of a prolific phone snatcher shows our focus on detecting and bringing to justice those who steal from people on our streets.

“Thanks to members of the public who intervened before officers arrived, we were able to return some of the phones and bring Brady to justice.”

The force has installed blue plaques at sites across the City where phones were taken, as part of a campaign to deter thieves and raise awareness.

They are also encouraging the public to set up Medical ID on their phones so police can contact a next of kin even if the device is locked.

Brady must also pay a statutory surcharge of £288.