Robber who punched teenage boy in the face and stole bike jailed for three years

 
Jailed: Gerome Ijoyah, of Miller Road, Croydon, preyed on two 15-year-old boys as they cycled past on their bikes
Alexandra Rucki26 February 2015
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

An 18-year-old man who punched a younger boy in the face and stole his friend’s mountain bike worth £400 has been jailed for almost three years.

Gerome Ijoyah, of Miller Road, Croydon, preyed on two 15-year-old boys as they cycled past on their bikes on October 15 last year.

Croydon Crown Court heard Ijoyah blocked one of the victims with his own bicycle and demanded he hand the mountain bike over in an underpass near Roman Way, Croydon.

The victim moved behind his friend and Ijoyah tried to steal the other bike, punching the youngster in the face as he tried to prise it away.

But he was unsuccessful and turned his attention back to the first victim and was able to steal the mountain bike worth about £400.

Two other boys, who were with the suspect but not involved in the robbery, picked up Ijoyah’s bike and ran off.

Police drove the boys around the area after the incident was reported and a man they believed to be the suspect was seen entering a house in Southbridge Road.

Investigators found Lioyah had been at the same address that evening with the stolen bike.

A jury at Croydon Crown Court found him guilty of robbery and he was sentenced earlier today to 30 months in prison, as well as a further four months imprisonment for breach of a suspended sentence.

Detective Constable Hayley Rodgers, from Croydon CID, who investigated the case, said: “This was a violent robbery, where Ijoyah assaulted one of the victims and stole an expensive mountain bike.

“Ijoyah denied being responsible, but from the evidence we gathered, the jury were convinced that he was behind it.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in