Wednesday, Nov 14, 2012
ENGLAND - British police had been looking for a "senior citizen" who had been robbing jewellery shops in Kent, England armed with a gun.
Instead, they arrested a student after his fingerprints were found on homework left behind in the shop.
Student Miles Alura, 16, used special make-up and wigs to carry out armed robberies disguised as an elderly man and a Rastafarian.
He was jailed for five years.
He dressed up as a senior citizen to steal £50,000 (S$97,000) worth of jewellery from a shop in Kent in July, and wore false dreadlocks during a robbery at another shop in Mayfair, London, the month before, when he escaped with £100,000 of jewellery, reported Britain's Daily Mail.
Miles' old man outfit included a hat, mock eyebrow colouring, a fake bushy beard, a receding hairline and special face make-up.
Identified after reporting restrictions were lifted, Miles was jailed for five years after admitting to conspiracy to rob, 21/2 years for possession of an imitation firearm and five years for robbery.
His jail sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
Another 16-year-old boy was jailed for three years for robbery and conspiracy to rob, while a 15-year-old was given a 12-month detention and training order for conspiracy to rob and possession of an imitation firearm.
Neither of Miles' accomplices, who also admitted to the charges, can be named for legal reasons.
Arrested
The court heard that on July 3, Miles and the 15-year-old went to Bourne and Kemp jewellers in Longfield, Kent.
Miles, dressed in his elderly man disguise, produced two pistols and threatened staff.
Terrified workers and a dog were tied up, and the pair stole £50,000 of jewellery, reported The Guardian.
Miles was arrested in a nearby garden, where officers also found the two guns and parts of his disguise.
Detective Constable Vicky Bailey said: "These were violent armed robberies during which innocent members of staff were terrorised and genuinely feared for their lives.
"It is even more shocking to know that this level of violence was inflicted by three schoolboys who went to extraordinary lengths to research, plan and get away with these offences, demonstrated by Miles' sophisticated disguise.
"These young men now face considerable terms of imprisonment where they will have plenty of time to think about the consequences of their actions."
