Lindell Angell, 32, of Amhurst Road, Hackney, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for robbery and possession of criminal property on Friday, 20 January, at Southwark Crown Court.

Angell had planned to steal a victim’s Patek Phillipe watch, which was worth approximately £145,000.

Angell approached the 51-year-old victim on the Strand in central London and engaged him in conversation before convincing him to go to a nearby bar.

They drank for two hours and exchanged phone numbers before heading home. Angell persuaded the victim to walk down a dark side street towards Embankment Tube, where he launched an unprovoked and violent attack on him, choking him and punching him repeatedly until he passed out.

Angell then removed the victim’s valuable watch from his wrist and fled. The victim was discovered by a member of the public, who called the London Ambulance Service. The victim was knocked out and suffered facial fractures while unconscious for several minutes.

Angell was identified using CCTV footage and phone work, and he was then the subject of a manhunt by the Proactive Robbery Team.

He was actively evading police, but on Monday, February 6, the team tracked him down and arrested him in a hotel room on Euston Road in NW1.

Further searches turned up a secure lock-up that had been rented six days after the crime, where a large amount of cash was discovered and seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

“This was a brutal robbery that not only resulted in serious physical harm, but the victim continues to recover from the psychological trauma,” said Detective Constable Gemma Oganian, who led the investigation.

“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 keep our streets safe, and we want to reaffirm this to the people we serve. We will proactively investigate and seek tough sentences for offenders like Angell”.