London (AFP)
An armed man who tried to steal the luxury watches of two star footballers from Arsenal in July was sentenced to ten years in prison by a London court on Friday.
With an accomplice, 30-year-old Ashley Smith had attempted to seize 200,000-pound (about 232,000 euros) watches from German midfielder Mesut Özil and Bosnian defender Sead Kolasinac, near his home. Hampstead, North West London, July 25th.
The assailants, riding a stolen moped, their head covered by a helmet, were "armed and dangerous", equipped with a knitting needle and a screwdriver, according to Judge Ian Bourne, Harrow City Court. But Sead Kolasinac reacted with "incredible courage" to repel the aggressors, he detailed.
The two players then fled in Özil's car, at first pursued by the attackers who threw stones at the vehicle, damaging it strongly, according to the magistrate.
Ashley Smith has been described by the judge as a "career criminal", already sentenced twenty times since the age of 14, including assault and theft.
He was on parole after being sentenced to 42 months in prison for burglary in 2017 at the time of the assault, recorded by a CCTV camera whose images circulated on social networks.
The sentence of his accomplice, Jordan Northover, 26, will be pronounced later.
© 2019 AFP