London robbers who stole £100k Rolex off US tourist are jailed trends now

London robbers who stole £100k Rolex off US tourist are jailed trends now
London robbers who stole £100k Rolex off US tourist are jailed trends now

London robbers who stole £100k Rolex off US tourist are jailed trends now

Two Rolex robbers who used a stun gun to snatch a £100,000 watch from a group of American tourists during a terrifying street heist have been jailed. 

Thomas Lenaghan, 24, and Ronnie Fitzgerald, 20, used a stun gun to zap their victim before they made off in a stolen car.

The horrifying attack took place in London's plush Chelsea district just after midnight on November 16 and was captured on CCTV.

The masked muggers, all dressed in black, surrounded the victim, a 31-year-old man, before pummeling him to the floor where they stunned him and demanded he handed over the costly watch.

Thomas Lenaghan, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, threatening a person with a bladed article in a public place, possession of a stun gun and threatening a person with a stun gun

Ronnie Fitzgerald, 20, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, threatening a person with a bladed article in a public place, possession of a stun gun and threatening a person with a stun gun

Thomas Lenaghan (left), 23, and Ronnie Fitzgerald, 20, (right) both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, threatening a person with a bladed article in a public place, possession of a stun gun and threatening a person with a stun gun.

How a parking permit for a school helped lead detectives to a violent gang of armed robbers 

Despite being caught on CCTV and on mobile phones, police struggled to identify the masked robbers. 

The car used, a Jaguar F-PACE, was stolen and had false plates, again leaving investigators at a dead-end.

In a determined effort to catch the muggers, detectives from the Met’s Flying Squad painstakingly analysed the footage, spotting a crucial clue that would crack the case - a small sticker on the car's windshield.

Spurred on, officers trawled through crime records to find out how many Jaguar F-PACEs had been reported stolen and outstanding, leaving them with 30-40 possible vehicles.

The team contacted each owner to find out if any of their cars had any particular identifying features.

One told officers their car had a parking permit for their child’s school – a description which matched the sticker seen on the getaway car.

This was the breakthrough moment the team had been looking for as it allowed them to discover the car’s true ‘identity’ - and track the robbers to a point where CCTV captured them meeting without their masks. 

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Dramatic footage of the attack then captures the moment the victim's father courageously sprinted towards the group of masked thugs to protect his son - battling with them as one mugger slashes through his jacket with a carving knife. 

The robbers also threatened a third person with a stun gun in the

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