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Thug with diamond-studded teeth who attacked lone women is jailed for 10 years
Benedict Moore-Bridger30.07.09
A man with diamond-encrusted teeth has been jailed for a series of robberies on women in north London.
Mickel Holmes, 18, was ordered to serve 10-and-a-half years behind bars for his part in three violent muggings in Hampstead and St John's Wood.
He and his accomplice, Pedro Joseph, 22, admitted carrying out three attacks on lone female victims, knocking them to the ground and stealing jewellery.
The pair were jailed yesterday at Inner London crown court.
One attack bore a chilling resemblance to those carried out by brothers Daniel and Matthew Mykoo, who also targeted wealthy women in north London.
Daniel Mykoo's victims included fashion designer Nicole Farhi, who was robbed at knifepoint on her doorstep.
Holmes, of Wembley, and Joseph, of Queens Park, began their attacks last December, when they ambushed a woman in the drive of her home in Hampstead Garden Suburb. She was pushed to the ground and had a hand placed around her throat before her attackers snatched earrings and rings.
On 4 January, a woman was robbed as she came back from the shops in St John's Wood. Holmes and Joseph again pushed her to the ground, but were scared away by a neighbour. Eleven days later, they robbed a woman walking home late at night.
Following the attacks, the Met's Territorial Policing Crime Squad launched an operation to target the criminals.
Holmes and Joseph were arrested near Hatton Garden on 14 January. They had jewellery that belonged to one of the robbery victims and keys to a stolen car. Holmes was identified when the victim of the first robbery recognised his diamond-encrusted teeth.
The pair pleaded guilty alongside a third man, aged 21, who admitted another robbery and will be sentenced on 8 September.
Detective Inspector Neil Thompson said: "This was a series of violent and cowardly attacks carried out on vulnerable, lone females and I would like to thank the many victims and witnesses who came forward."
Reader views (13)
Some of these comments are very sad. None of us are equipt to pass judgement on this boy or his family. He did wrong and is being punished for it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when your opinion has the potential to hurt friends and family that did not commit any crime, then it's best that those opinions are kept to yourself. None of us are perfect and you never know when a member of your family or a close friend is going to do something that is going to open you up to the same sort of cruel and ignorant comments.
- Nadia Pinket, London
In reality there is no link between race and crime - and why should there be? Unless you're some kind of weirdo eugenicist that believes we are pre-programmed, it's a pointless exercise.
What there IS evidence to support is that there is a link between poverty and crime. It's pretty obvious really - the less money you have the more likely you will be desperate enough to steal. When unemployment goes up, so does crime. Of course, not everyone who is poor or unemployed commits crime, it's a trend rather than a causal relationship.
Which brings us back to the original news article. What is it that made this poor excuse for a black man decide to ruin other people's lives for a couple of quid when he could have earned far more, for far less effort, working for a living? Couldn't he get a job? Didn't he have qualifications? Was his family life so chaotic that employment was unsustainable? Why did he make that choice? If we can resolve questions like that we are far more likely to reduce crime than just calling people vermin and screaming for higher sentences.
- Nolan, Londonist
Form your own figures 19% of robberies are committed by ethnic minorities, who make up just 8% of the population of the UK (Govt stats). What's the breakdown of your 19% ethnic minority figure? I would guess that its mostly African/Carribean. I've never read about a Chinese mugger.
Even your own figures suggest a shockingly disproportionate amount of crime committed by a significant minority from black communities. Its time menbers of those communities did something about it, other than blaming everyone else.
- Danny, NW5
I don't know where you got those statistics from Alec, but it wasn't from the Metropolitan Police and both figures are wrong!
For a start, minority communities make up about 30% of the population of London (about 10% of us are African/Caribbean).
Of course, unless the police catch 100% of the criminals involved in street crime it is not possible to know the ethnic origin of the perpetrators. Bearing in mind that only a tiny proportion of people carry out street crime (i.e. a few criminals carry out a lot of crimes), throwing around made-up figures like "62% of all street crime is committed by black people" is meaningless nonsense and it certainly didn't come from the Met Police.
What is for certain is that 81% of the people CONVICTED of robbery in the UK are white and that 94% are male. Does that get us any further? I would suggest it does not. Demonising people by race (or exploiting race to divide people) is not going to reduce crime. A higher police clearance rate combined with helping people to avoid making stupid choices in their lives might just help.
- Nolan, Londonist
Prise the diamonds out of his teeth, sell them and give the proceeds to a cause that assists needy groups who try and steer their youth from this spiral of criminality. As for these two - 10 years is not enough......
- Barbara, sydney Australia
well if michael is too hard a name for his mother to spell he's never going to be a rocket scientist is he ? and those diamond teeth don't come cheap.
- Squiz, Islington
It is not our imagination David....
According to the Metropolitan police 62% of all street crime is committed by black people in London (even though black people only represent 8% of the population in London!)
- Alec, London
Fred West, Peter Sutcliffe, Steve Wright, Ian Huntley, John Worboys, Ian Brady...
Is it just me or is violent crime rife amongst middle aged white men?
Depends how you look at the situation and what agenda you're trying to push, doesn't it?
- Nolan, Londonist
Nolan
dont be blaming society for the actions of people like this, the society he lives in gives him more than a fair go and a leg-up. Its more down to being able to get away with such behaviour, to be honest it doesnt matter what or why there really isnt an excuse for it.
Sdaly the govt. and courts we have do not really care and the only thing you as an individual can do is either move away from such an enviroment or do anything you can to protect your family and yourself from such an incident. Forget the law, the authorities do not really see it as important.
- Russell, London
Is it my imagination or is violent crime rife in the black community?
- David, London
Ten years. Why not life? They are clearly a persistent danger to women?
- Adam, Harrow, UK
You have to wonder what kind of messed up society we have created that people choose to go down such a dead-end path. Leaving aside the horrific ordeal the victims were put through (and the selfish and uncaring attitude that allows anyone to inflict that on others), these attacks would have barely raised a few quid and required much more effort than going out and doing a legitimate job.
So why do people choose to carry out this kind of dehumanising horror, with nothing to gain and the risk of lengthy time in prison? Because it IS a choice. Are the other options so inaccessible or remote? Longer jail sentences are too late. People like this are being abandoned to a situation where stupid life-destroying choices seem like their only option.
- Nolan, Londonist
With over half the sentence automatically halved because of Labour and with time already spent, these vermin will be back on the streets within only a couple of years.
Liberal-lefty justice system = poor criminals bad upbringing blah blah blah, screw the victims of crime.
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
