Men who caused havoc on South London trains jailed for 12 years …
Three men have been jailed for a combined twelve years and seven months after carrying out train[1] robberies across South London.
Over the course of six weeks in summer 2019, the group committed 14 robberies.
They targeted people at train stations including Elephant and Castle, Tulse Hill and Sydenham, taking phones and jewellery.
In several of the robberies, they ripped gold chains from their victims’ necks.
In one particularly violent robbery on board a train between Tulse Hill and Streatham, a victim was punched and kicked in the face. In this robbery, the group took a silver chain that was worth just £36.
Officers used CCTV to identify all of the suspects.
Elias Angulo-Ruiz, 22, of Ivatt Place Hammersmith[2], was sentenced to six years in prison, Starling Rodriguez-Jose, 24, of Kildare Road Canning Town, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, and Juan Martinez Vargas, 22, of Sudley Grange Road, Ealing, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison.
All three men have been banned from associating with or being in the company of any of the co-defendants for eight years and carrying a mobile unless they can prove it is registered to them.
Yoscar Lake, 22, of Burlington Road, in Thornton Heath[3], was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. He is required to undertake 800 hours of unpaid work and has received a 5-year criminal behaviour order.
All four men were convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery. Angulo Ruiz was convicted of an additional two counts of possession of a knife.
In March 2020, Angulo Ruiz was part of a group found to be in possession of a bag containing two knives at West Croydon Railway Station.
In September 2021, he attempted to rob a man at knifepoint on board a train between Nunhead and Elephant and Castle.
Detective Sergeant Tulin Akdam, investigating officer, said: “Criminals like this should know that we’ll make sure they face justice for the crimes they inflict on innocent members of the public.
“This cowardly group worked together to intimidate and target passengers across South London.
“The rail network is covered by extensive CCTV, which we successfully used to prove that they were behind this crime spree.
“Our uniformed and plain-clothes teams patrol the rail network every day to deter robbery and make sure passengers have safe journeys. Fortunately, incidents like this are rare.
“If a robbery has just happened, always dial 999 – our officers will quickly deploy to your location and begin immediate enquiries to trace the culprits.”
Pictured top: From Left, Elias Angulo-Ruiz, Starling Rodriguez-Jose, Juan Martinez Vargas, Yoscar Lake (Picture: British Transport Police)
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