6 months ago
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Sonny Stringer and an unknown accomplice rode into the City of London at speed on electric motorbikes on 26 March, police said
A phone snatcher who used an electric motorbike to steal devices from members of the public in central London has pleaded guilty to theft, police said.
Sonny Stringer, 28, from Islington, north London, stole 24 phones before evading officers by driving at speeds of almost 50mph (80km/h), City of London Police said.
Officers used the local camera network to catch him.
Stringer admitted stealing the phones at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday. He also admitted dangerous driving and driving without insurance and will be sentenced on 8 August.
Stringer and an unknown accomplice rode into the City of London at speed on electric motorbikes on 26 March and the string of thefts happened between 10:00 and 11:15 BST.
Control officer Lynn Newins, who took call from a member of the public who had witnessed one of the phones being stolen, said they spotted on the suspects on their cameras and she 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," she said.
"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."
Stringer was about to mount a pavement in the direction of a family pushing a buggy when officers made contact with the rear wheel of his bike, police said.
When he was forced off his bike and attempted to run away, officers pulled a Taser and were able to restrain him.
Ch Supt Rob Atkin said: "The successful capture and prosecution of a prolific phone snatcher shows 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."
