Two men jailed for robbing and stabbing 79-year-old

Two men have been jailed following the robbery and stabbing of an elderly man outside his home in Thornton Heath. 

The 79-year-old male was attacked as he washed his car outside his home at 9.50am on September 16, 2015.   

The two men, Bobby Baker, 27 and Darren Dean Baker, 21, of Norbury Avenue, Thornton Heath were charged with robbery at Croydon Crown Court on September 16, 2016. They were sentenced to six and five years respectively. 

The attack involved three men, one of whom was carrying a knife, who approached the victim in his driveway, knocking him to the ground and inflicting stab wounds to his hands before taking his belongings.

The victim was left without his phone, wallet or watch following the attack as the aggressors fled the scene on foot in the direction of Green Lane. Emergency services arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and took the victim to hospital to be treated for his injuries. 

The third participant of the crime, Shaquille Barrett, 21, also from Thornton Heath, was jailed for four years in October 2015 after pleading guilty to robbery. 

Barrett had been identified from CCTV footage that had been recovered from the area and was subsequently arrested on September 21 last year.  Barrett also faced further robbery convictions from a previous crime that occurred in July last year, in which he stole another man’s wallet in the same area.   

Detective Constable Emma Crowley of Croydon CID described the robbery as “a despicable crime against an elderly victim who was just going about his usual business at his home address”. 

She added that she hoped “these convictions and sentences act as a deterrent to others and shows that we will relentlessly pursue those who commit robbery, arrest them and put them before the courts to answer for their crimes.”

Robbery crime rates have increased by over one hundred instances in the borough since last year, which is currently in third place for the highest rates of violent crimes against a person.

Leave a Reply