Three men given more than 27 years in prison for Hingham robbery
A woman was dragged from her car during the ordeal
Three men have been sentenced to a total of more than 27 years in prison after following their female victim to Hingham before pushing her to the ground and attacking her - taking her rings, a Rolex watch and stealing her red Mercedes.
Shane Johnson, 30, HMP Norwich, John Weaver, 35, HMP Norwich and Freddie Aguis, 29, HMP Chelmsford, all pleaded guilty at Norwich Crown Court today (Wednesday 17 March 2021) to the robbery.
Aguis and Johnson were also charged with two further similar offences of robbery carried out in Essex and Stourbridge, near the West Midlands, when they followed victims and used violence to steal Rolex watches. Aguis and Johnson were sentenced to 16 years each for all the offences and Weaver to five and a half years for the robbery.
All three men were tied to the crime in Hingham after leaving their fingerprints on the false plates and tape used to attach it to the Mercedes - as well as on a Fanta can in another car used in the robbery on Wednesday March 13 2019.
The female victim, in her late 50s, was driving back from a meeting in London, and had parked her Mercedes next to the fish and chip shop in Market Place, Hingham at around 7.30pm. When she returned from the shop and opened the car door, she was attacked by two men who dragged her to the floor, covered her mouth and demanded jewellery. They forced the rings from her fingers and stole her Rolex watch, leaving her with severe bruising to her hands and wrist. The men then also took the car keys and stole contents from her handbag before taking her Mercedes.
CCTV evidence, overlooking the scene, shows the victim's car arriving at the car park. A short time after, a dark-coloured SUV pulled up in the car park around a corner from the Mercedes. Two men got out of the vehicle and hid behind a white van which was parked near the victim's car, before attacking her. A third man then gets out of the SUV and helps with the robbery. A fourth person in the vehicle then moved the SUV forward a few meters before two suspects get back in and the third steals the Mercedes.
The victim said she had been followed by a dark grey Audi Q3 for some distance before the robbery. The same vehicle is spotted on CCTV at the Co-op near to where the robbery took place, highlighting this as a targeted offence with more than one vehicle involved. The vehicles were later spotted on ANPR and the stolen Mercedes, which now had false plates, was stopped while the Audi Q3 made off.
Police forensics work matched Johnson's fingerprints to the false number plate and on the tape used to fix it onto the Mercedes. His fingerprints were also found on a Fanta bottle in the front passenger door of the Audi Q3 used in the robbery. Police later recovered the Audi Q3 in London on March 20 2019 which officers had seen being driven by Aguis and his prints were also linked to the false plates attached to the Mercedes. Weaver's fingerprints were also found on the false number plates and tape and his DNA was found on the front and rear index plates on the Mercedes.
Det Sgt Scott Malcolmson, the officer in the case, said:
"The victim in this case is still paying the price of her ordeal. She was just buying shopping and getting back to her car when three men approached, one man grabbed her, holding his hand over her mouth as they stole her possessions. This has had a long-lasting impact on her life.
"The police take such crimes very seriously, we understand they can be incredibly distressing and impact on some victims for life. We will always make sure we pursue these types of crime and turn over every stone to bring offenders to justice."