A
heartless one-man crimewave, who targeted vulnerable and elderly bus
passengers - robbing them and raiding their homes – has been caged
for eleven years.
Michael
Felicien, 35, (pictured) struck all over London in Brixton, Camden,
Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Wandsworth and Westminster.
Kingston-upon-Thames
Crown Court heard he was caught by the Metropolitan Police's Safer
Transport Command (STC) after a string of violent attacks.
He
pleaded guilty to two robberies; one attempted robbery and four
residential burglaries.
Felicien
came to the attention of the STC - which is funded by Transport for
London - after committing three offences where he robbed people on
buses or followed them from buses into their homes and attacked them.
The
offences took place between May 4 and August 12, last year and the
victims, a mixture of men and women, aged between 56 and 84 years-old
were targeted for cash.
On
May 4 Felicien followed an 84-year-old man onto a Route 36 bus after
leaving a betting shop in Westminster.
The
victim got off outside his home, where Felicien attacked him and
stole cash.
Then,
on August 5 Felicien attacked a 72-year-old man at his home after
following him from a betting shop in Wandsworth, onto a Route G1 bus,
and attempted to make off with cash.
On
August 9 a 56-year-old man was travelling on a Route 29 bus when he
felt Felicien take his wallet from his pocket.
He
challenged Felicien, who attempted to communicate with the victim in
sign language and gave the wallet back.
The
victim then got of the bus, however Felicien followed him and
attacked him, stealing his mobile phone.
His
offences were identified by the STC intelligence unit and passed on
to the Priority Crime Team to investigate.
Comprehensive
checks established that there were further offences.
The
description given, coupled with the CCTV images, led officers to
identify Felicien, who is deaf and without speech, as a suspect.
They
travelled to Islington where Felicien was known to frequent and was
he arrested on September 4.
Chief
Superintendent Sultan Taylor, of the Safer Transport Command, said:
"This is an excellent result which has seen a prolific offender
who targeted the elderly receive a substantial prison sentence.
"If
you commit an offence, you will be caught and if convicted every
avenue of punishment will be considered.
“So
the message is clear. Crime on London's bus system will not be
tolerated."
Steve
Burton, TfL's Director of Enforcement and On-Street Operations, said:
"Tackling crime on the bus network is a priority for the Mayor
and TfL, and we are delighted that the time and effort put in by the
TfL funded Safer Transport Command to catch and prosecute this
prolific criminal has led to this successful sentencing.
“We
care about every journey our passengers make, and will continue to
work hard with our policing partners to keep bus crime at its lowest
level."
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