Gang jailed over Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marcus Rashford robbery

Sawn-off shotgun gang are jailed for robbing brothers of Premier League stars Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marcus Rashford of £70,0000 Range Rover and £22,000 Rolex

• Both men were struck to the head with a bat and needed stitches after the raid
• Tariq Dervan, Romario Harmer and Talleko Lemonious were convicted in January

A gang of armed robbers have been jailed for attacking and robbing the brothers of Premier League stars Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marcus Rashford.

Tyler Alexander-Arnold was forced to hand over the keys to his £70,000 Range Rover and Dane Rashford had a sawn-off shotgun pointed at his face and his £22,000 Rolex Daytona watch snatched by the trio of masked robbers, who also carried a machete and a baseball bat.

Both men were struck to the head with the bat and needed stitches after the raid, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester was told.

Tariq Dervan, 22, Romario Harmer, 21 and Talleko Lemonious, 28, had denied involvement, but after a trial in January each of them was convicted by a jury of five counts of robbery and three counts of possession of an offensive weapon.

Passing sentence, Mr Recorder Peter Horgan said: ‘This was clearly a brazen and planned robbery in broad daylight.’

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, right, with his brother Dane, left

Pictured left: Tyler Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool defender Trent. Pictured right: Marcus Rashford (file photo)

Dervan, from Staffordshire, was jailed for five-and-a-half years; and Harmer, from Old Trafford, Manchester, for four years.

Lemonious, from Wythenshawe, was additionally sentenced for possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition linked to an unrelated crime. He was jailed for 18 years in total.

Earlier, Stephen McNally, prosecuting, told the court the victims had been having breakfast with three other friends at the Little Rock Caribbean Cafe in Moss Side, Manchester, on the morning of January 12, 2019, before intending to drive to Brighton to watch a Liverpool football match.

But all five were robbed after the trio burst in shouting ‘get your watches off’, as cafe staff fled in terror.

The robbers fled in the Range Rover – but it was fitted with a tracker and the trio were arrested by police an hour later at a house around two miles away in Fallowfield, south Manchester.

The victims had been having breakfast with three other friends at the Little Rock Caribbean Cafe in Moss Side (pictured), Manchester, on the morning of January 12, 2019 before intending to drive to Brighton to watch a Liverpool football match

At the house, police found items stolen in the robbery, including watches and wallets, along with ski masks. 

The sawn-off shotgun was found hidden in a nearby bush which had Harmer’s DNA on.

The robbers burst into the restaurant at around 10.30am on a Saturday.

The friends, who were left bruised and bloodied, were rushed to the city’s Royal Infirmary Hospital after the brutal beating.

Restaurant owner Samuel Francis said in January 2019 that he and the staff there were ‘traumatised’ by what had happened.

He said: ‘They’re regular guests and I think they were targeted deliberately. People have probably spotted their cars here before.

‘We’re all traumatised by this. I know the lads and we talk about football. I have a bit of banter with Tyler as his brother plays for Liverpool and I’m a United fan!

‘It’s my day off and I’m trying to spend some family time but it’s difficult and troubling when all this is going off. I just hope the lads are OK, my heart goes out to them.’

Marcus Rashford (pictured right) with brother Dane

Local resident and grandmother Dawn Bland, who lives a few doors away from the site of the ferocious attack, said: ‘The place is a bit rough, it’s Moss Side, but we still don’t expect something so awful to happen on our doorstep. It’s nearly bang outside my house and we’ve got young kids here.’

Dane was managing Manchester United’s star striker Marcus Rashford, 25, along with a third brother Dwane.

Tyler Alexander-Arnold was managing the business interests of Trent, 24, the England star who plays for Liverpool.

Superintendent Mark Dexter of Greater Manchester police said at the time: ‘Thankfully no one was seriously injured but the victims have been left understandably shaken following this incident.’

A jury at Minshull Street Crown Court found Dervan and Harmer unanimously guilty, and Lemonious guilty by a majority of 10-2 in January this year. 

Speaking of the incident, Dane said he could not see what was happening but felt a ‘prick’ on his back before he saw the gun being pointed towards his face.

Tyler, meanwhile, said he heard a shout of ‘get your watch off’ before the baseball bat connected with the side of his head.

The violent robbery lasted just a few minutes. 

Carl Miles, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said following the trial: ‘Talleko Lemonious, Tariq Dervan and Romario Harmer carried out a terrifying armed robbery at a cafe in broad daylight.

‘In their greed, they showed utter disregard for the impact on their targeted victims and other customers and staff in the cafe, who genuinely feared for their lives, and were not afraid to use violence to get what they wanted.

‘We worked closely with the police to build a strong case against them, including DNA and CCTV evidence, which we presented to the jury. After careful consideration of this evidence the jury found all three men guilty of all the offences they faced.

‘I would like to thank the victims for their help in bringing these violent men to justice in order to protect the public from further harm at his hands.

‘I hope that the conclusion of the trial helps them move forward with their lives.’

Source: Read Full Article