A meticulous investigation by Met police officers means that two men will face prison for committing a series of violent robberies across London and Kent.
James Dixon, 42, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to steal, robbery of cash and possession of an offensive weapon during a hearing at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on 28 October.
He is due to be sentenced on 18 January 2025.
Thomas Loring, 41, of Dunkery Road, SE9, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery on 25 November at Kingston Crown Court after the jury deliberated for 42 minutes.
He is due to be sentenced on 16 January 2025.
Dixon and Loring were part of an organised crime network based in South London and targeted cash in transit vans, Post Offices and a jeweller’s in a spate of vicious assaults which left victims with serious injuries.
On 26 March, during a robbery on an antique jewellery shop in Chelsea, which was captured on CCTV, two shop workers in their seventies were attacked with a claw hammer and around £200,000 worth of jewellery was stolen.
An investigation by the Met’s Flying Squad involved specialist officers reviewing hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, evidential profiling, analysis of DNA, use of vehicle monitoring technology and the identification of fake number plates.
Dixon and Loring were arrested following an attack targeting a cash-in-transit worker at a Post Office on the Old Kent Road on 19 June, during which they punched and kicked the custodian, stealing £26,000.
Antiques expert and owner of Bourbon Hanbury in Chelsea, Ian Towning, said, “The support we got from the police was absolutely fantastic. They’ve been there for me every minute. They’ve always been there. That’s what the police are there for, to help you, to guide you, to take you through it.”
