Moped gang jailed after being caught on CCTV threatening three-year-old boy

‘I’m going to hurt your child and take him away,’ attacker told mother

Twelve members of a moped gang, which carried out crimes across London, have been jailed after they were caught on CCTV attacking a mother and her three-year-old child.

The men cornered Phoebe Ruele while she was walking on a street in Richmond after picking her son up from nursery.

They first drove past her on two motorcycles before pulling into the road and waiting for Ms Ruele on 21 June 2018.

John McFadyen, 24, grabbed the mother by the arm and threatened to hurt her son.

“Give me your rings. I’m going to hurt your child and take him away,” Mr McFadyen is believed to have said.

CCTV footage shows the terrified woman dragging her son into the road, before builders clutching scaffolding poles drove the gang away.

The clip spread online after being posted by Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden who asked the public to “call 101 or 999 if u know these scumbags”.

The gang, aged between 18 and 36, were sentenced for offences including conspiracy to rob, conspiracy to burgle, conspiracy to steal and handling stolen goods.

Police officers said that jailing the group had helped to cut moped-enabled crime in London by 52 per cent in a year.

The defendants used mopeds to block traffic before taking an angle grinder to cameras rigged up to capture the Boat Race last year, escaping with a highly-specialised BBC camera worth up to an estimated £180,000.

They also carried out a ram raid on a high end outdoor clothing store in Kensington in December 2017.

Within a month, they returned to raid the store and left the security guard with head injuries, bruises and a foot injury.

The two raids cost the business a total of £80,000 in lost goods and damages.

On Monday Omar Tafat, 22, was jailed for eight years and five months for offences including conspiracy to steal and attempted robbery.

Josh Myers, 19, was sentenced to eight years in a young offenders’ institution after admitting charges including dangerous driving and conspiracy to steal.

He was also found guilty of two further counts of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.

Kian Taylor, 20, was sentenced to nine years and four months at a young offenders’ institution for offences including conspiracy to steal and attempted robbery.

The thee men were arrested on 7 May 2018, after a 90-minute high speed police chase through London, with all three riding on the same bike.

At one point they drove the wrong way up the A40 to try and elude the helicopter chasing them.

The gang’s ringleader, Terry Marsh, 32, was jailed for 13 years and two months for offences including conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to steal.

Steven Weller, 36, was jailed for six years and seven months for offences including conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to burgle.

Ryan Moran, 36, of Fulham, was given concurrent suspended sentences of two months for conspiracy to steal, 24 months for conspiracy to burgle and a month for handling stolen goods.

John McFadyen, 24, of Feltham, was jailed for 32 months for conspiracy to rob, while his brother Isaac, 19, was sentenced to 32 months in a young offenders’ institution for the same offence.

Mitchell Leaver, 18, was given a 12 month suspended sentence after admitting conspiracy to burgle.

Scott Leaver, 25,was sentenced to 56 months’ imprisonment after being found guilty of the same charge.

Aaron Pask, 27, was sentenced to six years and eight months for offences including conspiracy to steal.

Ram Monk 23, was jailed for two years and eight months after being found guilty of conspiracy to burgle.

Additional reporting by agencies