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On CCTV, the train steaming gang set out on a mission of menace
Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent4 Dec 2008
This is the first picture of the train steaming gang known as The Untouchables as they gather menacingly to pick out a new target.
Strutting and intimidating, they took their name from their belief that they would never be caught.
As the gang today start their jail sentences totalling 23 years, the threat of violence they posed to commuters is clear.
The CCTV pictures were taken at the height of the gang's eight-month campaign, in which they robbed men, women and even a 15-year-old schoolgirl on the capital's trains and Tube network. They struck at a number of stations from Liverpool Street to Fairlop Waters, Walthamstow Central, Seven Sisters, Stoke Newington and Loughton.
Gang leader Melvyn Gay, 27, threatened to knife terrified victims if they did not hand over cash, jewellery, mobile phones and iPods.
Sentencing the gang members at Southwark crown court, Judge James Wadsworth said: "Every weapon on the streets, even if it is concealed or out of sight, used or unused, is a threat to public safety because in a moment of drunkenness or anger there can follow offences of the greatest seriousness.
"And when you went out stoked up on drugs and alcohol in possession of a knife it was a very nasty matter indeed."
Outside court Detective Constable Jon Pine, of British Transport Police, said that the gang robbed indiscriminately and instilled fear in their victims. "They targeted men, women and children and warned them of severe consequences if they resisted their demands," he said.
"They thought that they were a law unto themselves and had absolutely no conception of the trauma and fear experienced by those who had the misfortune of being picked on."
He added: "These people behaved as if they would never be caught.
"But what they failed to recognise is that they were so often captured on camera by CCTV systems on trains and at stations, which proved invaluable in helping us to track them down and bring them to justice.
"Passengers should be aware that robberies on the railway network in London are significantly down, and that CCTV is proving increasingly valuable in tracing offenders who think it is acceptable to inflict misery on law abiding people."
Gay, from Walthamstow, was jailed for nine years.
Douglas Lawrence, 20, from Tottenham was jailed for five years and Sheldon Williams of Clapton and Aaron Flemming of Hackney - both also 20 - each got four-and-a-half years.
They all admitted conspiracy to rob between April and November last year. Gay alone admitted nine robberies and Williams and Flemming each pleaded guilty to four charges of robbery.
Reader views (31)
Please throw away the keys!
- Adrian, London, 05/12/2008 13:41
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Again, no police to be seen where the criminals are... Crash Gordon is consistently failing our UK society.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 05/12/2008 11:14
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Their sentences only totalled 23 years? should have been 23 years each.
- David Chertsey, Chertsey UK, 05/12/2008 10:49
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The sentences were all too low. If it was up to me, this gang should have been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in jail, without access to TV or musig equipment, not even an iPod. They should do hard work every day, wearing a ball and chain.
- Espen Franck-Nielsen, Vestby, Norway, 04/12/2008 17:32
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rick you're wrong. On a daily basis NYC is many many times safer than London. If you're in manhattan below 110th street crime is virtually nil. London is rampant with street crime. Thats one of the reasons i left the UK and wouldnt return.
You're admittedly way more likely to get shot in a regional city in the US due to the proliferation of guns here but you're way way way more likely to get mugged or a slap in London than you ever will in NYC.
- Jim, nyc, usa, 04/12/2008 17:29
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And what's this fella going to do in 9 years? Be a model citizen? Yeah, right. Why should honest people pay to keep him and his cronies in prison for that long when the end result will an early release and then back into a life of crime? Let's have chain gangs, let them pick up litter, or scrape chewing gum off the seats of the trains they robbed from. For 9 years. That would be a better idea. At least then the public would get somehting out of it.
- Dannyc, London, 04/12/2008 17:11
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Its a disgrace and totally disgusting how lenient the sentences are. These animal scum should be locked away for a minimum of 20 years and be given lashes.
- Vivek, London, 04/12/2008 16:45
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If you want proper change in this country stop voting for the same dumb politicians all the time. You only have yourselves to blame. No party will ever change the current status quo with regards to crime and punishment. Fear is what drives criminals. Fear that they must have wealth to be someone. Fear that they're missing out on something. Fear is bread by the State. Therefore the State creates the criminals. Redistribute wealth. Destroy the gap between rich and poor and the crime will fall.
- V, London, 04/12/2008 16:42
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Thank you for the info. Patrick. Now we all know what we've got to look forward to.
- John, London, 04/12/2008 16:31
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Why not give their victims their release date. I'm sure they wouldn't be feeling quite so brave with an angry mob waiting for them apon release.
Look on the bright side they will probably end up getting stabbed by one of their 'mates' inside anyway for looking at his toothbrush the wrong way.
- Jimbob, Kensington, 04/12/2008 16:14
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Doesn't this story make you glad to be living in a city which sustains such "vibrant" multi-cultural diversity?
- Alasdair, London, UK, 04/12/2008 14:37
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Role models such as Lewis Hamilton or Barack Obama could never help these violent losers.They'd probably mug either of them given the chance.
- Steve, London, 04/12/2008 14:17
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Honestly guys you just don't know how well off you are in this day and age. London is relatively safe to go around in unless you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am in sunny Florida but spent most of my life in and around London and walked the streets of Soho without hearing a gun shot once. Hear in Jacksonville the shootings are around 150 this year alone. 25 teenagers are dead. There are no go areas even in daylight. The police have now killed about 15 in incidents. One of which was a guy shoplifting a pair of pants and the off duty 'moonlighting' copper and perpetrator fired 50 shots around the parking mall? That in one of the most popular shopping malls in Jacksonville. Yesterday a guy riding a bus was shot at with his family and it missed him and his son by inches. Recent gun incidents? In Toys R US sales two women were arguing over something and one got a bloody nose. The outcome was that their men partners had a shoot out and killed each other right there and then in Toys R Us OK Corral? A sportsstar shot himself accidentally in the thigh in a night club and a Chief of Police accidentally shot himself in front of his family. In New York a young guy killed the bus driver over a one pound charge for transferring transport. You are safer by 99% and thank your lucky stars for CCTV. Now go to the New York equivalent to see what your missing?
- Patrick Lockyer (Rick), Jacksonville Florida, 04/12/2008 14:05
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How about naming and shaming their parents with their pictures. Are they fit role models? maybe parents will start becoming stricter. Oh by the way the judge obviously doesnt get the train to work then judging by these sentences for robbery.....
- Dc, London, 04/12/2008 13:59
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So they get to go to prison or should that be criminal college for a few years (if that), see all their mates, learn how to do more crime and then come out after a few months thinking they are even bigger scarier hard men than when they went in. I bet they are back to rob and hurt more people they day they are let out. Well done, Britain, you've really taught them a lesson, I'm sure they'll go and become flower arrangers when released
- Ag, The Village of London, 04/12/2008 13:50
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Sadly, the Judge's comments about these people being 'stoked up on alcohol and drugs' just about sums up the next few years for them if reports about freely available alcohol and drugs in prison are to be believed.
We should clean up the prison system and jail any prison officer, visitor and others who take such substances into prison. They should then be put to practical work that can contribute some good to society... whether they like it or not, and if they don't like it they should even be denied food until they do! And by the way... for those who don't care for my view lest we hurt the prisoners' feelings, TOUGH! What did they care for their victims feelings?
- Burton J Helling, Le Hommet d'Arthenay, Normandy, France, 04/12/2008 13:43
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I am sure they committed these crimes because they did not have the right role model. If Hamilton had won the Grand Prix last year, then I am sure these nice young men would all have good jobs, be paying tax and living good clean family lives.
Was that a pig I saw fly by?
- Frank, Home Counties, England, 04/12/2008 13:23
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So in a maximum of four and a half years this gang will all be back together again, fitter, tougher and ready to terrorise even more people. What message does that send out to them and others of a similar criminal bent?
The law is a complete ass and does nothing to protect the law-abiding. It's time the criminals were made to live in fear not the ordinary citizenry.
How about consecutive MINIMUM sentences for each crime proved, with NO time off for good behaviour, but time added for any misbehaviour?
And why exactly did these scum think they are untouchable? Answers on a postage stamp to the CRE.
- Chelsey, England, 04/12/2008 13:18
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Of course these scumbags thought they were untouchable, they were probably aware that the police were afraid of being labelled 'institutionally racist' if they apprehended them.
- Simon, London, UK, 04/12/2008 13:12
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Wrong of the ES to use 23 years as a headline - falling into the trap of making it sound like a big number. Actually it's a disgracefully small number, and that should have been in your headline - how about "Tube Mob caught, but free to rob again before 2012" ?
- David H, Aylesbury, 04/12/2008 13:04
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I cannot believe they only got such short sentences. Divide those by half and you haave the real time they will serve. When they get out, they will receive free everything.... Its the signature of this country: cheat, steal, rape, kill, lie, terrorise, be profligate. The state will see you are never homeless, foodless, tvless, clothesless, mobilephoneless, carless, or clotheless. All the while, those who try their best, to be honest, truthful, pay their own way, put aside something for a rainy day, keep on subsidising this, without a murmer and keep on voting the same politicians and policies in. I cannot imagine why. Any ideas?
- Helen, norwich, 04/12/2008 12:57
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And why did it take the plods so long to catch them?
I find it difficult to believe that these muppets were not already "known" to the police.
How difficult is it to look out for for these four idiots..what's the point of having one quarter of the worlds CCTV cameras if you can only watch videos of a crime after the event, they obviously don't prevent crime.
- Jon, London, 04/12/2008 12:47
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The thing that strikes me apart from the ridiculously lenient sentences is thay got away with it for 7 months,why? how?is that typical of the time it takes to detect people like that?They must have been caught on CCTV 1000s of times in the 7 months.Just proves to me how inefficient are police force is.
- Kev, london, 04/12/2008 12:41
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i am suprised they even showed a CCTV image that implicated a black gang, very un-pc.
- Aesir, London, 04/12/2008 12:03
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Lest we forget, because of our useless Government these scum will be back on the streets after doing only HALF of their sentence. The protection of the public disappeared in 1997.
- Roger, Surrey., 04/12/2008 12:01
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CCTV is a joke. So after a number of robberies it proved invaluable in tracking them down, but only because they were known to police anyway. How about having a few live people instead? Then maybe we could start preventing crime rather than just picking up the pieces after. I'm sure most people would rather not become victims whilst CCTV evidence is being gathered.
- Mark, London, 04/12/2008 11:41
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Why weren't they locked up for longer? 15 years & No parole would have sent a clear message.
These sentences send the message that you may be caught and if so you will only be out of action for a couple of years.
- Adam, Harrow, UK, 04/12/2008 11:24
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Never mind a total of 23 years, they should all have got a minimum of 23 years each.
- Jw, Watford, Herts. UK., 04/12/2008 11:21
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9 years doesn't sound like very long at all and given our twisted justice system, I'm sure they will be let out long before then, unrehabiltated, to carry on as they left off. I'm sure my heavily taxed salary will help them enjoy the time they have inside with TV, ipods and what other things that are part of prison life these days. Great.
- Kt, London, 04/12/2008 11:00
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In the olden days persistent and violent robbers like this would have been hanged, especially in London. The sentences do strike me as being a bit too lenient. Hopefully their fellow-cons in jail will give them a good kicking.....
- David, Guildford, UK, 04/12/2008 10:56
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Yeah, and with feeble sentences like that, they'll be back on the streets and the underground and the trains in a very short time.
- David Smith, Wellingborough, England, 04/12/2008 10:31
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