Thug befriended victim and beat him unconscious in ‘brutal’ £145k luxury watch robbery

A robber battered a man unconscious before making off with his £145,000 luxury watch in central London after befriending his victim and drinking with him for two hours.

Lindell Angell, 32, left his victim with facial fractures after robbing him for the Patek Philippe timepiece.

Angell began talking to the 51-year-old on the Strand in central London and convinced him to join him at a nearby bar.

The pair drank for two hours and swapped numbers before heading home on January 21.

On his way back, Angell convinced his newfound pal to head down a side street towards Embankment station where he suddenly started attacking him extremely violently, choking and punching him until he fell unconscious.

Once he was on the floor he removed the pricey watch.

The victim was knocked unconscious for several minutes and suffered fractures to his face.

Prosecutor Sue Obeney said: "Angell had purported to befriend the victim, spent a couple of hours in a pub, accepting his generosity, and finished by robbing and leaving him unconscious on the road.

She added: “At every turn he denied responsibility for the robbery”.

The victim was found by a passer-by who called an ambulance.

Detectives used CCTV and phone work to identify the cruel crook who then became the subject of a manhunt by the Met’s robbery squad.

Shocking footage shows the pair walking down the empty side street before Angell suddenly launched himself at his victim, knocked him to the floor and stole the valuable watch.

He escaped police for two weeks but was arrested at a hotel on February 6, while further searches located a secure lock-up, hired six days after the offence.

Stashed cash was located and seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and Angell was convicted of robbery and possessing criminal property at Southwark Crown Court, on Monday, November 7.

DC Gemma Oganian, who led the Met Police investigation, said: “This was a brutal robbery which not only resulted in serious physical harm, but many months after the offence, the victim continues to recover from the psychological trauma.

"People should be able to walk the streets of London and not fear this type of crime.

We are doing everything in our power to ensure our streets are safe, and we will proactively investigate and seek tough sentences for offenders like Angell”.

Det Supt Tor Garnett said: “This is a great example of the skill of our detectives in catching and convicting violent robbers who target innocent members of the public.

Our dedicated watch robbery team will continue to seek out offenders and bring them to justice.”

Angell, from Hackney, east London, will be sentenced at the same court on January 13, 2023.