Latest news with #SouthwarkCrownCourt
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Watch: Crowds flee as burglar triggers smoke grenades at Claridge's Hotel in £190k jewellery heist attempt
This is the moment passers-by fled as a man set off smoke grenades in an attempt to steal £190,000 worth of jewels from London's iconic Claridge's Hotel. Clad in a balaclava and crash helmet, Jay McGinty, 37, arrived the hotel in Mayfair on a Vespa scooter and set down a smoke grenade, covering a hallway in thick black smoke, before attempting to break into a jewellery cabinet with a sledgehammer in March this year. However, the raid was thwarted when security staff held a revolving door shut, trapped McGinty inside, until police arrived. McGinty was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated burglary at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday (29 May).
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Comedian Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape, sexual assault charges
LONDON, May 31 — British comedian and actor Russell Brand pleaded not guilty yesterday at a London criminal court to five charges of sexual offences including rape and sexual assault. The media personality turned anti-establishment influencer faces one count of rape, one of oral rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault between 1999 and 2005, involving four women. Crowds were waiting as Brand, 49, arrived at Southwark Crown Court in an open-buttoned shirt and dark blazer for the plea hearing, after being granted conditional bail at a previous hearing. He gained international recognition as the husband of pop star Katy Perry, but is better known in the UK for his hyper-sexualised and often lewd comedy routines and TV and radio appearances in the early 2000s. Now living partly in the US, Brand appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in central London earlier this month, where he showed no emotion as a prosecutor read out allegations against him. Yesterday, Brand appeared in the dock flanked by two officers, where he stood stock-still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas. He is now due to stand trial next year, on June 3, 2026. Prosecutors charged Brand following a police probe into allegations aired in a 2003 Channel 4 documentary. He is accused of raping one woman in a hotel room following an event in the southern Bournemouth area in 1999. Another charge relates to the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in central London. The accusations involve four women, including one who was a TV worker, and another who was a radio station worker at the time of the alleged assaults. In a video response on X after he was charged in April, Brand said he was 'grateful' for the 'opportunity' to defend himself. Conservative guru 'I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity,' he said in the video. Born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, Brand began his stand-up career as a teenager, eventually working as an MTV presenter and host of a Big Brother spin-off. He presented a show on the BBC's Radio 2 station between 2006 and 2008, but quit after an on-air prank when he left a sexually explicit voicemail for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter. Once a left-leaning political campaigner and Hollywood star, he has rebranded himself as a conservative guru to his millions of social media followers. Brand often peddles in conspiracy theories, as well as sharing wellness tips, in his anti-establishment videos. Last year, he said he became a Christian after being baptised in the Thames river. — AFP
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Heaven security guard cleared of raping woman in his car near venue
A security guard at London's popular Heaven nightclub has been found not guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in his car during a shift at the venue. Morenikeji Adewole, 47, of Dartford, Kent, had been charged with raping the woman near to the club in the back seat of his Lexus while she was drunk in the early hours of November 1 last year. The complainant had queued outside the club for around two hours with five friends for a Halloween-themed event but was denied entry for being too intoxicated, a trial at Southwark Crown Court was told. Adewole then walked her away from the club's entrance and picked her up in his car before driving the woman to a small road called Adelphi Terrace. A jury of eight men and four women reached a unanimous verdict on Friday after around six hours and 30 minutes of deliberations, with Adewole found not guilty of both rape and attempted rape. The defendant cried and wiped away tears with tissues in the dock as the verdicts were delivered in court. Giving evidence during the trial, Adewole claimed that there was sexual activity with the complainant but he did not have penetrative intercourse with the woman. He said that the woman had earlier told him she was 25-years-old but in the car she said she was 19 and he 'stopped immediately'. Addressing Adewole after the verdict, Judge Martin Griffith said he should still be 'absolutely ashamed' of himself for taking advantage of the drunken woman. The judge said: 'Your job was to take care of them (the club attendees). Your response to that was to go off in a car with her because your brain was driven by your groin.' The trial heard Adewole had used a false ID to get a job at the club, having been employed at Heaven under the name Olusola Julius Alabi, and was in the UK on a five-year tourist visa that did not allow him to work in the country. He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an identification document with improper intention relating to the offences. Judge Griffith passed concurrent six-month custodial sentences for each offence, but said the time had already been served by the defendant during his time on remand. He added a victim surcharge would also be drawn up in due course. The judge told the jury: 'Thank you very much for the obvious care and attention that you took.' Heaven nightclub, which has operated in Charing Cross for more than 40 years, was temporarily closed down by Westminster City Council after the alleged incident on public safety grounds.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Heaven nightclub security guard cleared of raping woman during shift
A security guard at London's Heaven nightclub has been found not guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in his car during a shift at the Adewole, 47, of Dartford, Kent, had been charged with raping the woman near the club in the back seat of his car while she was drunk in the early hours of 1 November last complainant had queued outside the venue for around two hours with five friends for a Halloween-themed event but was denied entry for being too intoxicated, a trial at Southwark Crown Court was Adewole then walked her away from the club's entrance and picked her up in his car before driving the woman to a small road called Adelphi Terrace where they had sex.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Terrifying moment jewel thief fired up smoke grenades in Claridge's and smashed his way into display case in £190,000 raid before hero security guard grabbed him
A career criminal caught on CCTV lobbing smoke grenades into Claridge's and smashing a jewellery display cabinet open with a sledgehammer was jailed for six years. Jay McGinty, 37, tried to grab £190,000 worth of gems from the world-famous luxury Mayfair hotel - but he was thwarted by a pair of brave security staff before he could escape through its revolving doors. The brazen would-be thief arrived on a moped with no number plate as he pulled the pin on a pair of smoke grenades shortly before 8.30pm on March 14 this year. As the devices ignited he dashed into the lobby in full view of passers-by before setting down the grenade to create a smokescreen. Wearing a motorcycle helmet and balaclava to obscure his identity, he then took a sledgehammer to a jewellery case as the hotel's CCTV cameras were obscured by a thick black fog. But his escape was thwarted by security staff who confronted him and held the revolving door shut and trapped him inside until police arrived, even as he threatened one of the brave workers with violence. McGinty, a prolific offender with a string of convictions to his name, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary at the first instance and was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court this week. Charles Evans, prosecuting, said police were called minutes after his arrival at the hotel, as he smashed into the display case containing almost £200,000 worth of jewels. He said: 'At approximately 8.30pm on Friday 14 March 2025, police were called to an incident at Claridge's Hotel in Mayfair, to reports of a male smashing a jewellery display case containing high value jewellery belonging to Jessica McCormack jewellers. 'Hotel CCTV shows the defendant arriving at Claridge's Hotel as pillion passenger on a Vespa motorcycle with no number plate being displayed. 'The Vespa pulled up outside a side entrance to Claridge's on Davies Street. The hotel is accessed through a revolving door. It is within that corridor, close to the revolving door that the jewellery display cabinet is situated.' CCTV shows McGinty hopping off the scooter and pulling the pins on the grenade before reaching for an orange-handled sledgehammer stashed in the Vespa's footwell as he rushed inside with the smoking grenades. Mr Evans continued: 'The defendant then set about the display cabinet with the sledgehammer. He was still wearing his motorcycle crash helmet and a balaclava beneath, no doubt as a means of concealing his identity.' McGinty smashed his way into the cabinet and began taking jewels - but was interrupted by security guard Bright Acheampong, who rushed in as he saw smoke and heard the bangs of the thug hammering at the cabinet. Mr Acheampong challenged McGinty as he put his hand into the cabinet and made his way to the revolving door - only to find it was jammed in place by another member of Claridge's staff. 'The guard grabbed hold of the defendant within the revolving door (and) the defendant, still holding the sledgehammer, shouted "don't come near me or I'll hit you" or words to that effect, which caused some concern to him,' Mr Evans said. 'However, he managed to pull the defendant out of the door and took the sledgehammer from him.' The brave guard detained McGinty and called police. Staff at the hotel later recovered a 16-inch pearl necklace worth £5,000 and a pearl pendant worth £7,500 near the exit. McGinty has 20 convictions for 38 offences, including robbery, multiple burglaries and possession of a firearm without a certificate, the court heard. Matthew Ralston, defending, said McGinty had suffered a 'rather troubled upbringing' that saw him placed into care twice, and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2012. 'Mr McGinty has always been rather matter of fact about his involvement, at the earliest occasion at the Magistrates Court, he said he was going to plead guilty,' Mr Ralston said. 'He has periods of manic episodes where he is rather erratic in his behaviour. It is against that background that he finds himself at the Claridge's hotel in Mayfair.' Wearing a grey suit with a blue tie, McGinty spoke only to confirm his name. Sentencing him to six years imprisonment, Judge Tony Baumgartner told him: 'I accept you suffer from a mental health disorder, most likely bipolar disorder. 'In the opinion of the probation officer, you need to develop your thinking skills. If you do not do so, he believes there is a possibility of history repeating itself in the future. He believes you need to want to change. 'You offered a guilty plea to this offence at the earliest opportunity. For that, I will give you full credit.' The thief showed no emotion as he was taken to the cells.
