Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Thief who stole 24 phones in one morning jailed for two years

Sonny Stringer, 28, from Islington, north London, used an electric motorbike and stole phones from members of the public on the streets.

Ellie Ng
Monday 12 August 2024 16:47 EDT
Sonny Stringer was jailed for two years (City of London Police/PA)
Sonny Stringer was jailed for two years (City of London Police/PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A prolific phone snatcher who used an electric motorbike to steal from members of the public on the streets of London has been jailed for two years, City of London Police said.

Sonny Stringer, 28, from Islington, stole 24 phones on the morning of March 26 before evading police by riding at speeds of nearly 50mph.

Officers used the city’s camera network to catch him.

Phone snatching has a significant impact on victims and it is right that Stringer received a custodial sentencing for snatching mobiles on London’s streets

Chief Superintendent William Duffy

Stringer was about to mount a pavement in the direction of a family pushing a buggy when officers made contact with the rear wheel of his bike.

He was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday to 20 months concurrent for each of the theft charges and an additional four months for dangerous driving, according to the force.

Stringer and an unknown accomplice rode into the city at speed before snatching an iPhone 15 from a woman’s hand on Blackfriars Bridge.

At one point the pair narrowly avoided crashing into a member of the public as they cut across a pedestrian crossing while evading police.

Stringer eventually came off the bike and tried to run away but was arrested.

His bag was found to contain 22 phones, with two having been dropped when police struck his bike.

People have their worlds on their phones and it isn’t a minor crime to them

Control officer Lynn Newins

Chief Superintendent William Duffy said: “Phone snatching has a significant impact on victims and it is right that Stringer received a custodial sentencing for snatching mobiles on London’s streets.

“We’d urge people to be aware of their surroundings when using their mobile phones on the street. Limit the opportunities for criminals to target you by reducing the number of times you have your phones out while in the street.”

Control officer Lynn Newins said: “In the control room we can manage the position of the cameras ourselves, which is very useful and speeds up our ability to track criminals.

“We spun the cameras around on Cheapside and updated officers on the phone snatchers’ path.

“I remember saying that they were ‘going like the clappers’ and could see members of the public having to avoid being hit by them.

“I sadly speak to lots of victims of phone snatchers and the loss of their phone is devastating to them. People have their worlds on their phones and it isn’t a minor crime to them.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in