TikTok prankster Mizzy guilty of stealing phone

TikTok prankster Mizzy has been found guilty of stealing a woman's phone as he rode past her on an e-bike.

Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro, was riding a green Lime e-bike on 15 June 2022, when he snatched the device from a woman's hand in central London.

Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court heard he fled from police and tried to dump the mobile in a bush.

O'Garro was bailed to appear for sentencing at the same court on 13 June.

The court heard the woman had been walking down Highbury New Park in Islington at about 13:00 BST on the day of the theft.

A man on a bike wearing a blue tracksuit with a black and white scarf on his head then grabbed her iPhone 13 Pro Max.

She had been distracted as she was texting on the device, worth about £1,000.

The woman said she did not see the thief's face but knew he was black because she saw the bottom of his arms.

She also remembered what he was wearing.

The encounter, she said, lasted about 10 seconds, adding: "It made me feel stressed, anxious and quite scared."

Edward Kalber, prosecuting, told the court O'Garro, then 17, was approached by police for unrelated reasons.

He said the defendant fled and threw the mobile over a fence into bushes before an officer forced him off the bike.

The court heard he ran away on foot but was stopped by three other officers in an unmarked police car after they became suspicious of him.

PC David Clifford told the court O'Garro had exhibited "erratic behaviour".

The court heard he was arrested when officers found him hiding behind a tree.

Wearing a black jacket and black trousers in the dock, social media star O'Garro, now 19, told the court he had been given the phone by a friend who he was cycling with.

He said he threw it away, ran off and gave a no comment interview to officers because he "felt scared of the police".

"Sometimes I don't feel comfortable talking to the police because of the negative stereotypes they have in the area," he said.

He added he had also been given legal advice not to comment.

Keren Weekes, defending, said there was insufficient evidence to show it was O'Garro who stole the phone.

Presiding magistrate Fros Kyriacou said she did not find O'Garro's claim a friend had handed him the phone "credible" or believe he had fled officers because he was "scared" of the police.

Finding him guilty of theft, she said she accepted the witness's evidence.