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New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas – from Arsenal youth captain to shame and prison for drug smuggling
'One thing is for sure: he can score goals. That is a massive talent you cannot give to people — right foot, left foot, this guy is an unbelievable finisher, inside and outside the box.' — Arsene Wenger, Arsenal manager, 2010. As the judge imposed a four-year prison sentence, the former footballer standing in the dock bowed his head. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas stood impassively, hands behind his back, flanked by two security officials. He had once been a brilliant prospect for Arsenal and went on to become an accomplished centre-forward representing other clubs in England, Scotland and around the world. Advertisement Now, though, he was led away as an international drug smuggler who had tried to bring 60 kilograms (132lb) of cannabis, with a street value of £600,000 ($815,000) into England, duping his girlfriend into being one of his couriers. His playing career is finished, aged 34, and that was described by his barrister, Alex Rose, as an 'absolutely seismic shock' for a man who had 'succumbed to temptation in a catastrophic error of judgment'. But what led Emmanuel-Thomas to criminality? And how did a man with a 16-year career as a professional footballer — described in court as having led an 'utterly law-abiding life' — find himself in this position? Temptation, mainly — but also 'stupidity', by his own admission, and a level of financial hardship that demonstrates, perhaps, how the life of a footballer below Premier League level is not always as lucrative as many people believe. Emmanuel-Thomas had blown his career earnings, the court was told, and was no longer attracting the big contracts that came earlier in his life. At the time of his arrest, he was earning £600 a week, plus bonuses, at Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship, the second division of the game in Scotland. 'It is clear this (crime) was about money, despite you being in a position where you had the privilege of playing football as a living,' the judge, Alexander Mills, told him. 'It is through your own actions that you will no longer be known for being a professional footballer. You will be known as a criminal — a professional footballer who threw it all away, and put others at risk of imprisonment, in pursuit of money.' It is 16 years since Emmanuel-Thomas captained Arsenal to a 6-2 aggregate win against Liverpool in the FA Youth Cup final. Arsenal's team for that two-leg contest included Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin and Henri Lansbury, all future Premier League players. Yet it was the boy known as 'JET', after his initials, who stood out — tall, imposing and broad-shouldered, scoring in each round and seemingly destined for stardom. Some of the Liverpool players refused to believe he was only 18. Advertisement Emmanuel-Thomas had got his first call-up to Arsenal's first-team squad at age 17, and there were almost two years when the teenager trained under manager Arsene Wenger's watchful eye. Perhaps the truth, however, is that Emmanuel-Thomas, in pure sporting terms, has always been something of a puzzle. He was too good for Arsenal's reserves, yet not quite good enough for their first team. Then, having moved away from the north London club, there were times when various managers with other teams saw him as an elegant frustration — likeable, talented and brilliant on his day, but falling short, ultimately, of being the player he was expected to be. At Arsenal, he played in every outfield position bar right-back for the youth and reserve teams. Steve Bould, a first-team coach and a legendary figure at the club from his own playing days, had wanted to turn the lad into a centre-half. Wenger, however, made it clear he saw Emmanuel-Thomas as a striker, just as the player did himself. It was never going to be easy, though, for any player to break into that first team while Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie were on the scene. Even after Henry moved on to Spanish side Barcelona in summer 2007, the competition was fierce. 'It was a tough period because, at the time, the attacking players at Arsenal were immense,' Emmanuel-Thomas told The Athletic in 2021. 'We still had Van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, Nicklas Bendtner. After those guys, I was the next choice. I'd already bypassed all the players from my year, and two years above me, in the academy but it was difficult to get (first-team) game time.' In court, his legal team talked about his criminal record being 'something he will have to live with, and the feeling of shame, for the rest of his life'. What can also be said with certainty, however, is that — even ignoring, for one moment, the events that brought him to Chelmsford crown court in Essex, east of London — this is a story of what might have been. Advertisement 'Arsene Wenger thought he could go to the very top with Arsenal,' says Steve Cotterill, who managed Emmanuel-Thomas at Bristol City in the English third tier from 2013-15. 'So, no, he didn't achieve his full potential. But there are so many players who I've seen over the years like that, so he wouldn't be different to a lot of them.' After deciding to leave Arsenal in 2011 following a series of loans to clubs in the second-tier Championship, Emmanuel-Thomas had two seasons in that division with Ipswich Town, and was rewarded for his gamble by playing 42 of their 46 league games in his first season. The 2013 move to Bristol City came next, and it was there that he played arguably the best football of his career. 'I knew straight away that he had great ability,' says Cotterill. 'He could go on some of the best 70-yard runs you've ever seen in your life. He could beat five players on those runs. He was a really powerful boy, he had a great left foot and a great understanding of the game for someone so young.' Was he a popular member of the dressing room? All the evidence says that, yes, he was liked and respected by his team-mates at all his clubs. 'JET was always a big character, always smiling,' says Aaron Wilbraham, another City striker from that time. 'He was good with the older lads, the younger lads — it didn't matter to him. He was a friend to everyone, including me, which he didn't have to be, considering I was his competition.' Staff at Arsenal took pride in seeing one of their academy graduates making a decent career for himself in the lower divisions of the game. Yet the player was held back at times because of weight and other fitness issues and that, perhaps, was the first indication he was not taking his football as seriously as he should have been. 'Because I was nearly 35, I was brought in to push JET on,' says Wilbraham, who joined from the Premier League's Crystal Palace. 'I remember Steve (Cotterill) pulling me in on my first day and saying, 'Jay has got unbelievable ability, but he needs a bit more of a professional attitude, like you — I think you'll be a good marker for him, but push him.' Advertisement 'I think Jay struggled because he was one of those lads that carried a bit (of weight) anyway. He probably never bought into the diet side of things or tried to have a summer where he properly went for it and was like, 'Right, I'm going to train all summer, strip down and go back in pre-season an absolute monster.' 'If he had done that, I think he would have been playing in the Premier League, because that was how good he was. 'He could have been unbelievable because of the ability he had — miles more ability than me, in his feet and his vision. Some of the stuff he used to do… even his penalties, when he used to walk up really slowly and look at the goalkeeper. He used to have the goalkeepers out after training for ages, trying just to save one.' Emmanuel-Thomas moved on to Queens Park Rangers in the Championship as a free agent in summer 2015, shortly after helping Bristol City win the League One title. During three years with QPR, he also had loan spells with fellow EFL sides Milton Keynes Dons and Gillingham without ever replicating the form that brought 21 goals in his first season at Bristol City. Although it was not mentioned in court, he also had 15 months out of the game when a proposed transfer to a Chinese club had to be abandoned in 2020 because of the outbreak of Covid. Then, in the past five years, he has played briefly in Thailand for PTT Rayong and then in Scotland with Livingston, Aberdeen (both in the top-flight Premiership) and Greenock Morton, either side of a brief stint in India with Jamshedpur and nine games for Kidderminster in England's fifth-tier National League. One finish, in particular, for Livingston against Hamilton Academical in March 2021, is a reminder of his eye for the spectacular: flicking the ball up, with his back to goal, then firing a swivelling volley into the roof of the net. 'That's magnificent from the man they call Jet' 😍Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored an audacious volley in Livingston's 2-1 win against Hamilton Academical 👏 It was voted Livingston's goal-of-the-season award and was likened to his former team-mate Henry's famous volley for Arsenal against Manchester United in 2000. 'Proud of this one,' Emmanuel-Thomas wrote on his Twitter page — an account that, noticeably, introduced him as an 'entrepreneur' rather than a footballer. One of the more shocking parts of this court case concerns the way Emmanuel-Thomas tricked his girlfriend into being a part of his criminal operation. Raised in south London, by Caribbean parents, Emmanuel-Thomas was on a six-month contract at Greenock Morton when the police arrived outside his house on September 18 last year. Advertisement As he ran out for a game away to Queen's Park four days earlier, the former England Under-19 international must have known the law was about to catch up with him. His final match as a professional footballer — Morton announced his sacking on September 19 — ended in a 1-0 defeat. Emmanuel-Thomas was substituted after 65 minutes. On September 2, Border Force officers had stopped two women at London Stansted Airport. One was the player's 33-year-old partner, Yasmin Piotrowska, a fitness trainer from Kensal Green, north-west London. The other was her friend, Rosie Rowland, 29, from Chelmsford. Detectives discovered via WhatsApp messages and voicenotes that Emmanuel-Thomas had persuaded them to travel to Thailand and act as couriers in return for £2,500 in cash and an all-expenses-paid trip, flying in business class via Dubai. The women had been told it was gold they were bringing back. Unknown to them, it was actually cannabis, a class-B drug under UK law, vacuum-packed inside four suitcases. Each case had Apple AirTags to make sure the drugs weren't lost. Emmanuel-Thomas was arrested and, on his way to custody, he told officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA): 'I just feel sorry for the girls.' Yet he continued lying to Piotrowska after she had been arrested, sending her a WhatsApp message with instructions to 'delete everything from our chats if you can … this is impossible, I've never been involved in anything like this in my life. You know it should be only gold and cash.' The player deleted his own messages, disposed of his phone and bought a replacement to cover his tracks. After being arrested, he refused to answer questions from the police. Then, in his first series of court appearances, he denied any wrongdoing, insisting he was innocent and would fight the charges. Advertisement In reality, he had carried out 'extensive research' to set up the operation and had even arranged a dummy-run two months earlier to make sure everything went smoothly. Detectives believe his connections with the criminal underworld in Thailand may have begun during his 2019 spell there playing for PTT Rayong. 'Organised criminals like Emmanuel-Thomas can be very persuasive and offer payment to couriers,' says David Philips, the NCA's senior investigating officer. 'But the risk of getting caught is very high and it simply isn't worth it.' The two women had the criminal charges against them dropped at a court hearing last month, in which the prosecution accepted they had been duped and Emmanuel-Thomas changed his plea to guilty. Piotrowska dabbed her eyes with tissues. Rowland could be seen shaking her head in apparent disbelief. A month on, a tearful Piotrowska was back in court on Thursday to see Emmanuel-Thomas sentenced. 'Most of the boys (at Bristol City) would be amazed at what's happened,' says Cotterill. 'If you'd asked me, 'Do I think he would have got involved in anything like what's gone on?', no, I wouldn't. He was an easy-going, laid-back character. That's why I think this comes as a shock to probably everybody.' Will Emmanuel-Thomas have to spend the full four years behind bars? No. He has been on remand in prison since he was arrested and the judge told him he would have to serve 19 months in total before being released on licence, depending on good behaviour. The court was told he had already established himself as a mentor to younger inmates inside Chelmsford prison. In a letter to the judge, the footballer described his arrest, and everything that had happened since, as 'the most painful and eye-opening experience of my life'. It was the hardest letter he had ever had to write, he stated, explaining how he had let down his family and friends, as well as everyone he knew in football, including the supporters of the clubs where he had played. Advertisement He went on to talk about his deep shame, as a dad-of-two, bearing in mind he had looked upon his own father as a role model who led him away from temptation. His daughter had visited him in prison and the former Arsenal rising-star explained how 'that broke me — I never wanted her to see me in that light'. (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
CBS News
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Speed enforcement cameras added outside of Wheat Ridge High School to target Colorado drivers
Two automated speed cameras have been set up in areas of Wheat Ridge that the police are calling "excessive speed areas." The first camera is at West 32nd Avenue outside of Wheat Ridge High School. The second camera is at West 44th Avenue and Field Street near Anderson Park. Wheat Ridge police say both of these areas have a lot of foot traffic, so drivers need to slow down or risk hitting someone. The first speed camera is at West 32nd Avenue outside of Wheat Ridge High School and the second camera is at West 44th Avenue and Field Street near Anderson Park. CBS The idea of these cameras was passed by a city council ordinance in October 2024. Wheat Ridge police have also been conducting speed research for the past two years. They have also been checking out how Boulder, Aurora, and Morrison utilize their speed cameras. Wheat Ridge police say you will see traffic laws photo enforcement signs all around the area, giving you a warning. Police say they are seeing drivers going 10 mph over the 30 mph posted speed limit sign. These cameras will ticket anyone caught speeding through the areas. The cameras work by monitoring the car's speed and will take a picture of the car and its license plate. This is a 30-day warning period, so drivers will not receive a ticket just yet, but after the 30 days, you are looking at a $40 ticket, and it jumps to $80 if caught speeding during school hours. The camera outside of Wheat Ridge High is permanently placed there, while the Anderson Park camera is mobile. Police say this method is a safer option for their officers. "This is just a much more effective way of enforcement," said Alex Rose, Public Information Officer with the Wheat Ridge Police Department. "Instead of going after one person and pulling them over and probably taking several minutes at that traffic stop, it's ticket, ticket, ticket, ticket." Two automated speed cameras have been set up in areas of Wheat Ridge in what police are calling "excessive speed areas." CBS Wheat Ridge police say they have noticed a 12% increase in traffic crashes and a 62% increase in DUI crashes. They are asking anyone to call 911 if they see excessive speeders, road rage incidents, and DUIs. Wheat Ridge police are working on a mobile version of these cameras called Dragon Cams. It will take the automated cameras and put them into radar guns to track and ticket speeders. Once the new technology has been released, we will update you. The revenue collected goes to the city's general fund, not necessarily to the police department. Those funds help with sidewalk infrastructure and making parks more vibrant in Wheat Ridge.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Yahoo
Police: Arvada, Wheat Ridge smash and grabs most likely connected; Lakewood resident says her stolen car was used
ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) — Police are now saying multiple smash and grabs in the west metro area are most likely connected after new surveillance video is found. We first told you about two smash and grabs in Wheat Ridge last Friday. Now we've learned an Arvada liquor star was also hit just minutes before. Westminster police search for napping burglar The owner of Arvada Liquor Mart didn't want to go on camera, but said that as a small business, he's taken a hard hit even though the thieves didn't get inside. The suspects backed into his store multiple times, the damage costing $9,000. In the surveillance video you see the suspects back into the store multiple times before realizing they can't get in and leave the property. Two other smash and grabs happened within 15 minutes just after Arvada Liquor Mart was hit. Wheat Ridge Police Department's Public Information Officer Alex Rose said the agency was able to make the connection. 'About 15 minutes prior to the first call, we learned that there was an Arvada liquor store that was also a target. It's not uncommon for us to see this type of behavior because crime doesn't just stop at one jurisdiction and call it quits,' Rose said. The police investigation also revealed it's likely a stolen vehicle seen in the videos. A Lakewood resident, Kelli Baca, believes the white suburban seen in the surveillance videos is her stolen car. 'It's like you work your life to just have what you have and to know that my truck is being used to commit these crimes to local businesses is just — it's heart wrenching, it's disgusting, ' she said. Denver police search for suspect in DIA baggage thefts Baca said their family Suburban was stolen last Thursday morning from their driveway. Her husband had the car running and realized he left his phone inside. So, he decided to grab it and within seconds, the thieves were there. She said that after seeing FOX31's coverage, she knew it was her suburban because of window decals and other distinguishing features. 'I kept watching the video over and over again, hoping I was wrong, but no, it's our vehicle. I know it is, and it's just heartbreaking to know that if we even get it back it'll be a total loss because the damages that they're doing to these businesses, I can only imagine what it's doing to my vehicle,' Baca said. Police have yet to recover the vehicle and say they are still working on this multi-agency investigation. If you have any information, you are urged to contact Metro Denver Crimestoppers at (720) 913-7867. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Porch pirate uses stolen white school bus as getaway vehicle
DENVER (KDVR) — A porch pirate, caught on camera using a school bus as a getaway car, is circulating on social media. FOX31 learned police found the bus but the suspect is still on the run. Broncos coach arrested, accused of punching Denver officer in face Surveillance shows a porch pirate in action on Feb. 17, stealing packages off of a porch on 38th Avenue and Sheridan in Denver. The theft was in broad daylight with a painted-white school bus there for the getaway vehicle. 'Not the most subtle vehicle to do that kind of crime with,' Wheat Ridge Police Public Information Officer Alex Rose said. 'We're glad that somebody recognized it and was able to give us a call.' WRPD got a call Saturday after someone recognized the bus from the video on social media located on 38th Avenue in Wheat Ridge's jurisdiction. 'Inside the bus, we were able to find five different packages that had various Denver addresses listed to them, but it looks like the contents were mainly removed,' Rose said. 'We collected evidence. We also were able to swab for some DNA on that bus.' Officers didn't find any suspects or people on the bus upon arrival. Were my rights just compromised? Why police don't always read Miranda Rights 'When we ran the VIN, it turned out that it was stolen out of Golden, so we were able to track down the original owner of the bus,' Rose said. 'And now that original owner has that bus again.' WRPD asks anyone with information about the suspect to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. On X, the agency said the bus has been involved in several criminal instances outside of Wheat Ridge. 'We certainly want to hold people accountable when they take things that don't belong to them,' Rose said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
27-01-2025
- CBC
Victoria 12-year-old builds AI robot companion for lonely kids and seniors
Social Sharing Two friendly eyes stare out from a dark screen, held aloft by a black robotic arm that curves upwards from a metallic blue base. The robot's 12-year-old inventor gazes back. "How would you describe yourself? Give me a five-word answer," Alex Rose tells his creation. AIRO, which stands for AI Robot, pauses and then replies in an animated, soothing voice. "I'm a friendly, helpful and curious robot companion." WATCH | Victoria preteen demonstrates his homemade AI robot: Victoria youth builds homemade robot as a companion for lonely people 3 days ago Duration 0:37 Standing at about 30 centimetres tall, AIRO is the young Victoria, B.C., resident's latest creation: an AI-powered robot programmed to compassionately engage with humans and respond to their needs. Alex, who is diagnosed with autism, created AIRO to be a companion for those experiencing loneliness. It's an issue that's personal to him, as he says he struggled with making friends prior to middle school. Soon, Alex hopes to make AIRO widely available so that others in the community, including seniors and kids looking for companionship, can access the robotic resource. "It feels like it has emotions when you talk to it … some people would say, 'Oh, it can't understand you,' which is sort of true, but if you have no one to talk to and you're just lonely and you can talk to a machine like this, that's a very rewarding experience." What sets AIRO apart from other personal bots, like Amazon's Alexa, is the focus on creating a compassionate connection with the user, Alex says. He's designed AIRO to have pet-like mannerisms — it can tilt its screen to mirror an active listening pose, which Alex controls through an app. In the model set to release later this year, he also hopes to make AIRO capable of recognizing faces and turning towards people who are speaking to it. AIRO is the latest in a series of robots Alex has been designing and improving upon over the past two years. His current model was put together using an off-the-shelf robot arm and a phone attached to an Xbox controller mount, which he programmed using a combination of Python and the children's programming language Scratch, to allow it to converse using ChatGPT. He controls the body of the robot through an app on his tablet. As he works through the testing of the upcoming model, Alex will replace the phone with a small Raspberry Pi computing box, with four speakers on each side of the robot's base, and then enclose the frame in a 3D-printed case he's designed. Alex's mother, Amanda Rose, says her son has been into technology since he was three or four years old. He would regularly take apart old electronics and, by age six, Alex had read the entire manual for the family's Honda. "I was bored, I wanted to know how it worked," explained Alex. His interest in robotic companions began when he got a toy robotic dog for Christmas — which kept breaking and didn't live up to the functionality he had hoped for. Alex created his first robot two years ago — a feathery, boxy bot called the AIRO Parrot that spoke with users. Since then, Alex has created a series of updated models, eventually landing on the latest AIRO, which he hopes will be the one he makes available to the wider community. His parents don't share his passion for technology — "kind of the opposite," Alex says — but have supported him throughout the creative process as his first financial backers. The community has already begun to show some interest, too. Little Steps Therapy, a children's therapy centre in Victoria, purchased one of Alex's AIRO Parrots to use for their clients after he approached them with a proposal. "He's very creative and very driven," said the centre's director, Victoria Coward, who added that the AIRO Parrot has helped boost her clients' confidence in using technology. Other models are being beta tested in local seniors' homes, Alex says. By the end of 2025, he hopes to make AIRO available for purchase by the wider community — he currently estimates it will cost between $200 and $500 — with free delivery for those in Greater Victoria. Ultimately, Alex's dream isn't to replace human connection with the companionship of robots, but to use emerging tools to address a critical need that he knows can cut deep.
