Thief jailed for snatching designer watch from man

A thief has been jailed after snatching a designer watch off a man's wrist in London.

Sami Rakene, 28, stole a Patek Philippe watch from Edward Barnett in the area of Kilburn High Road, north-west London at about 18:00 BST on 26 October.

The watch's exact value is unknown, but the luxury brand's watches can cost between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The defendant, of Burnt Oak, Edgware, was also sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday for stealing a white suitcase and a backpack from two different people at Paddington station on 7 April and 1 May respectively.

District judge Nina Tempia jailed him for 38 weeks.

In reference to the watch theft, she told Rakene: "You are lucky not to be charged with robbery."

Prosecutor Mewesh Shah told the court police officers were in an unmarked car when they saw what they initially thought was a phone snatch on 26 October.

They saw Rakene in a red baseball cap running along Kilburn High Road and managed to follow and detain him, finding the watch in his trousers, Ms Shah said.

In mitigation, the court heard Rakene experienced a "traumatic" assault in February last year which led him to start committing crimes, but that he regretted his actions.

It was said he went to Paddington station on 1 May to steal goods in a bid to fund his travel to Scotland to start a new life.

The court heard he regretted his actions.

The judge said Rakene was on post-sentence supervision when he committed the October watch theft.

The contents of the stolen suitcase were worth £500 and the backpack and its contents were valued at £380 - which included a disabled badge.

It is understood the owners of the two items were never reunited with their belongings.

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