Distraction Burglars Targeted Residential Building For The Elderly

Deborah Arthur

Two heartless women burglars – who targeted elderly people in their own homes – have been locked-up for tricking their way into a residential building.

Deborah Arthur, 43, of no fixed abode, received three-and-a-half years and Fortunata Paczkowska, 30, of Bury Street, Lower Edmonton received five years.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard the duo were seen on CCTV at 8.00pm on January 26 pressing the intercom to enter Ajex House, East Bank, Stoke Newington.

Once inside, they spoke to several residents and attempted to gain access to their flats.

A 79-year-old male resident allowed them into his flat after they convinced him to read a letter.

Once inside the address, they stole several items, including cash and credit cards.



Fortunata Paczkowska

The suspects’ images were circulated in the local press and a local resident called police after seeing the image of Paczkowska in a local newspaper.

They were both charged with artifice burglary and remanded in custody.

Paczkowska was also charged with another distraction burglary at Ajex House on March 8, last year involving a victim who was a 91-year-old man. 



Detective Constable Anwen Clissold, from Hackney’s East Area Detections Team, said: “These two women were clearly trying to target a number of residents at the location.

“I hope this case highlights the willingness of the public to help us identify offenders in Hackney. 

Meat Supplier Harassed Chef Who Went Bust Owing Thousands

"I'd Just Lost Short Of £5,000" - Gibson

A meat wholesaler, owed nearly £5,000 by a restaurant that went bust, was convicted today of threatening to have the chef-owner “clubbed” by Irish gypsies if he didn't pay-up the money.

Barry Ray Gibson, 47, of School Road, Downham, Billericay – boss of L & O Meats Limited – left Edward Shaerf, 29, a former chef at The Ivy “scared and paranoid” and forced to leave the home he shared with his wife and nine month-old daughter for ten days.

Trouble began when L & O Meats, of 32 Saffron Court, Southfields, Basildon discovered the company which owned '1 Blenheim Terrace', a St. John's Wood brasserie, had gone into liquidation earlier this year.

Mr. Shaerf, who opened the venture with two colleagues from The Ivy, told Hammersmith Magistrates Court that he received a call from and angry Gibson on January 17, demanding the outstanding bill be settled or he would send “people” around to the restaurant.

“I was scared and paranoid,” said Mr. Shaerf, who conceded there was a legitimate debt. “There are better ways to deal with this than making threats.”

He told the court Gibson was “very angry” and threatened to have him “clubbed” if the bill was not paid and received a similar sinister phone call from the defendant on January 20.

Another call was taken by Mr. Shaerf's sous chef, Stuart White, who explained: “He was angry and demanded to know where was the money, who was responsible, where did they live and that he would pass on the debt to gypsy traveller friends to collect.

“He said that other debtors, who owed him money, were still in hospital.”

Mr. Shaerf made a complaint to police that he was being blackmailed and father-of-three Gibson was arrested on January 21 and taken to Charing Cross Police Station.

He told the court he had inherited his forty year-old family business from his step-father and had reduced his bill to 1 Blenheim Terrace to £2,800 by waiving his firm's profit, but was frustrated in his attempts to deal with the issue.

"Scared and Paranoid" - Shaerf

“I phoned Ed up to find out how we were going to recover our money, I might have been angry,” he said. “I'd lost just short of five thousand and needed to recoup my money.”

He denied threatening violence or suggesting heavies would be sent to the business, explaining he was referring to an Irish debt collector he met at his son's boxing gym.

“I wanted someone to collect our money rather than go through solicitors and chuck more money at it,” Gibson told the court. “There were no threats of violence.

“I said: 'We've met people that collect money.' They're Irish and I met them at the boxing gym where I take my son. They told us they were licensed.”

District Judge Mike Snow found Gibson guilty of harassment by putting Mr. Shaerf in fear of violence between January 16 and 21 and sentenced him to a three-month electronically-tagged daily home curfew between 6pm and 2am.

He also ordered Gibson to pay Mr. Shaerf £250 compensation, £620 court costs, a £60 witness tax and made an indefinite restraining order, prohibiting the defendant from contacting the victim and Mr. White.

“I found Mr. Shaerf and Mr. White to be very impressive, very precise,” he announced. “Careful listening to the voicemails is very revealing. What does handing the debt over mean if it doesn't mean sending someone to sort you out because they are much more ruthless?

“He asks for Mr. Shaerf's home address. Why would he do that if it was not to put the frighteners on?

“I don't believe Mr. Gibson. He was angry, he'd been let down and he knew it was unlikely he would get his money back and put this man in fear.”

The judge told Gibson: “I can understand how frustrated you must have been when the company of Mr. Shaerf went into liquidation, but it can't be condoned that you took the law into your own hands and put this man in fear.”

United Airlines Fined For Using Under-Sized Dog Containers

Heathrow Airport

United Airlines have been left with a £13,000 court bill after admitting six offences of transporting dogs on their flights in containers that were not large enough.

The American-owned company, of United House, 451 Southern Perimeter Road, Heathrow Airport admitted the summonses at Uxbridge Magistrates Court.

The offences, which the airline admitted in writing, spanned from January 21 to February 27 and related to the transportation of two great Great Dane's; a Rough Collie; two German Shepherd's and an unidentified dog.

They admitted landing an animal, which had been transported in contravention of the standards set by the International Air Transport Association, in that the dog's travelling container failed to meet the required dimensions, contrary to the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order and the Animal Health Act 1981.

They were fined £1500 on four of the summonses and £1750 on the remaining two, plus court costs and were given a month to pay.

Car Thief Murdered Israeli Woman

A Romanian murderer is facing life imprisonment after admitting stabbing an Israeli woman to death and driving away in her car.

Nicolae Patraucean, 20, of Chichester Court, Stanmore killed 55 year-old Rivka Holden at her flat in Falcon Way, Colindale on March 16.

A police car was flagged down at 12.20pm and officers alerted to a seriously injured woman at her home address.

An ambulance rushed to the scene, but Ms Holden was pronounce dead at the scene.

Arrangements were made for the body of Ms Holden, a regular attendee at Kingsbury Synagogue, to be returned to her native Israel for burial.

A murder investigation was launched under Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall of the Homicide & Major Crime Command.



The victim’s red Hyundai i20, registration RE62 AEA, which had been stolen during the incident, was later found in the Kingsbury area.



Detectives traced Patraucean and he was charged the next day with the murder of Ms Holden.



Patraucean is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, July 25. 

Hairdresser Caught Having Sex In Car After Boozy Cocaine Night Out

A hairdresser was caught by a shocked passer-by, who filmed her having sex in her VW Beetle, while nearly three times the drink-drive limit having snorted a line of cocaine the night before, a court heard today.

Julianne O'Connor, 33, claims the female pedestrian started filming her and her boyfriend on her mobile phone while the pair had sex when parked in a residential suburban street after a saturday night drinking-session.

The mum-of-one pleaded guilty to outraging public decency by being naked and having sexual intercourse in the vehicle in Mount Ephraim Road, Streatham on May 25.

She also admitted being in charge of the car with 96 microgrammes of alcohol in her breath - the legal limit is 35 - and possessing a small wrap of cocaine in nearby De Montford Road.

Prosecutor Mr. Brinkman May told Camberwell Green Magistrates Court it was 7.55am when the pedestrian spotted the pair.

"She noticed a male and female in a blue VW having sex or performing a sex act and was clearly alarmed by what was going on and called the police."

Officers caught up with O'Connor in a nearby street and although her car's engine was still warm they had no evidence she had been driving.

"Both individuals seemed to be under the influence of drink or drugs and after police found cocaine in Miss O'Connor's handbag she told them she had done a line earlier.

"She was found in the vehicle and it was suspected she had been driving, but we can't prove it.

"She fully admitted having he class A drugs and she was mortified and apologetic, explaining her judgment was impaired by drink and drugs and did not know it was so late.

"Miss O'Connor said she felt she was being filmed because the witness had her phone out."

Her lawyer Miss Natalie Cottrell told the court: "This was a very regrettable event and she regrets what happened that day.

"This was a Saturday, Sunday night just before the Bank Holiday and she was out drinking that evening and met up with her boyfriend.

"She didn't want him in her home, but spoke with him in the car and one thing led to another.

"She is very remorseful and tearful and says she is a very, very occasional user of cocaine, a social user and does not have a problem.

"It was due to drinking earlier that impaired her judgment and she did not mean to cause distress to anyone. This witness had a good look and was very close to her car window."

First-time offender O'Connor spent twenty-four hours in Brixton Police Station before she was charged and her boyfriend accepted a caution.

She was fined £280 for being in charge of the vehicle while over the limit, disqualified for six months and fined £150 for possessing the cocaine.

There was no separate penalty for the outraging public decency charge, but O'Connor was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £28 victim surcharge.

West London Sex-Pest Hunted By Police

Police hunting a West London sex-pest have released this CCTV image of the suspect, who has been approaching lone women in the street.

The incidents have taken place in the Earls Court and Kings Road areas between April 13 and 29.

The first offence happened on April 13 at approximately 4:35pm in Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court.

The 23 year-old female victim was walking home when the suspect approached her then grabbed her and sexually assaulting her before running off.



The second offence happened on Sunday April 27 at 9:10am in Longridge Road, Earl's Court.

The 23-year female victim was walking home when the suspect approached her. He grabbed her bottom and legs and ran off.



On Monday April 28 at 1:40pm the suspect struck again, this time in Hammersmith near the Queens Head public house, Brook Street.

The 28 year-old female victim was walking her dog when the suspect became verbally abusive towards her.



On Tuesday April 29 at about 8:45pm the 19 year-old female victim was walking along the King's Road, Chelsea when the suspect came up behind her and grabbed her bottom.



The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 5ft 5ins to 5ft 7ins, aged between 25 to 30 years. He has a London accent and short dark hair.



If you have any information please contact Notting Hill CID on Kensington 020 8246 0148 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

Knife-Wielding Mugger Stabbed Prostitute To Death

"Cold Blooded": Farooq Shah

A knife-wielding midnight mugger is facing a life sentence for murdering a pregnant prostitute he stabbed twice in the chest as he cycled around east London looking for victims.

Farooq Shah, 21, of Station Road, Forest Gate had robbed a vulnerable victim less than an hour earlier then targeted 24 year-old Romanian Mariana Popa – the mother of a six year-old child who had only been in the UK a few weeks.

He was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of murdering Mariana in Ilford Lane, Redbridge, shortly before midnight on October 28, last year.

He was also found guilty of a knife-point mugging in nearby Upton Park the same night, when he robbed a partially-sighted man in his fifties, and will be sentenced on June 27.

Detective Inspector Darren Richards said: "This was a cold-blooded, senseless murder by a man who went out that night, armed with a knife, intent on using it to commit serious injury to someone.



"He had already threatened and robbed a vulnerable man with a knife earlier that night, and he was hanging around the Ilford Lane area, looking for another victim.

“He killed Mariana because she was there, because he thought he could get away with it.

“In doing so, he has deprived a young daughter of her mother. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Mariana."



Stabbed To Death: Mariana Popa

The murder investigation was launched by officers from the Homicide and Major Crime Command after police were called by the London Ambulance Service at approx 00:15am on Tuesday, October 29, to reports of a woman injured in Ilford Lane, near the junction with Loxford Lane.



Officers attended and she was treated for a stab injury and she was taken to an east London hospital where she died at 01:53am.

The post-mortem examination ascertained that she died from shock and haemorrhage and stab wounds to the chest.



Mariana, who has a six year-old daughter, had been spoken to by police three times that night and she had been issued with a caution for soliciting.



CCTV footage proved critical in this case, and approximately 400 hours was reviewed over the course of the investigation.

Police recovered the footage from a number of cameras along the road, one of which had actually caught the murder taking place.

It shows Mariana walking along with a man on a bicycle, when he is seen to take a knife from his back pocket and stab her twice in the chest.

He then makes off towards Loxford Lane on his bike, while Mariana manages to make her way to a nearby shop where she collapsed.



Through the footage, detectives were able to trace the attacker to an area around St. Francis Way.

During door-to-door enquiries on November 6, officers discovered a bicycle matching the description of that seen in the CCTV footage.

Shah was inside the flat and, finding he fitted the description of the murderer, he was immediately arrested. 



At the address, police found a bag belonging to Shah that matched one worn by the murderer in the footage; they also recovered a Samsung Galaxy phone which Shah had given to his friend, who was present at the flat. 



Enquiries revealed that the phone had been taken during a knife-point robbery in Harold Road, Upton Park, at approx 11.00pm on the night of October 28.

CCTV footage had already shown that the murderer had been travelling from that direction to Ilford Lane.

That victim was partially sighted, but crucially was able to describe his assailant's distinctive thick beard.



Dead Man Unidentified: E-Fit Issued

Police have released this e-fit of an unidentified man, who was found dead in the grounds of a disused building in Lower Addiscombe, Croydon.

The body was found at 6 Morland Road at 3.05pm on Thursday, May 8 and the death is being treated as non-suspicious.



The man is described as black, of medium build, 5ft 8ins to 6ft tall, with short black and grey hair and a full black and grey beard. 



He was wearing a black v-neck sweater, brown shirt, blue denim jeans with a brown belt and black lace-up boots. He also had with him a dark green t-shirt. 



His clothes appeared clean and it did not appear as if he had been sleeping rough.

A small black bag was found near to his body. 



Enquiries have led police to believe that the male was living in rented accommodation and recently lost his job. 



Police are particularly interested in any landlords who had a tenant matching the description who has recently gone missing or not paid the rent. 



Anyone with information is asked to please call Croydon Missing Persons Unit on 020 8649 0016 or 101.

All calls with be treated in confidence.

Violent Groper Hunted By Police

Police are hunting this man – suspected of grabbing the same woman's breasts and buttocks within a week.

Metropolitan Police officers have made a public appeal for assistance in tracking-down 39 year-old Italian Gianluca Certo.

He also slapped the woman across her face several times during the incidents in Cricklewood Broadway, Cricklewood on April 16 and 23.

Certo is described as white, 5ft 7ins tall, of a medium build with short black hair and brown eyes.

He may or may not currently have facial hair. 



He is known to have links to London area, but it is possible he may have travelled outside the local area or even the country. 


Officers would ask anyone who knows of his whereabouts not to approach him, but to contact police either by 999 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. 

Nightclub Bouncer Had Cache Of Illegal Weapons In Luggage After Far East Holiday

A nightclub bouncer was caught at Heathrow Airport with a cache of illegal weapons in his luggage after a “trip of a lifetime” to Thailand.

Ashley Otter, 28, of Pendderi Road, Bynea, Llanelli, Dyfed had two stun guns, two knuckle dusters and a telescopic baton in his holdall, which he bought at a Bangkok market on the last day of his trip.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon; two counts of possessing an offensive weapon and one count of importing a weapon on January 30.

Otter received twelve months imprisonment, suspended for a year, ordered to perform 200 hours community service and pay £150 costs.

Isleworth Crown Court Judge Martin Edmunds QC told the first-time offender: “If you found someone trying to bring them into a nightclub you would have confiscated them and called the police.”

Prosecutor Mr. James O'Connell told the court Otter arrived in the evening on a flight from Bangkok via Delhi and was asked by customs officials whether he was carrying cigarettes or weapons.

“He said he had one stun gun in his bag and when his holdall was searched the other items were found.

“He said he bought some gifts for friends on his last day and was aware they could not be purchased in the UK.”

Otter's lawyer Mr. Gerald Mohabir said: “He is mentally scarred and mentally contrite. He's a good egg that took a hard-boiled decision on holiday.

“On what he thought was the trip of a lifetime he bought these items at a market where they were not illegal.

“As soon as he passed customs he realised the decision was stupid and he was extremely nervous.

“He was not trying to smuggle them in for a nefarious purpose.”