Reading Crown Court was left in shock as young thieves carried out a four-hour stand-off with police, making chilling references to the tragic killing of Pc Andrew Harper. Vuitton Robbins, 18, known as Tom, and Akay Coaker, 20, faced sentencing on Friday for multiple counts of thefts, burglary, and violent disorder offenses, while a third defendant, Reiss James, 21, awaits sentencing after a delay in obtaining a pre-sentence report.
The harrowing incident occurred on December 8 last year at a flat in Caversham Road, Reading, Berkshire. Police arrived at the address at approximately 5.40 am to apprehend the trio, suspected of a series of bike and electric bike thefts across Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
Instead of surrendering peacefully, the three men barricaded themselves inside the flat and launched an assault on the police officers outside. They threw missiles, boiling water, and even radiators, displaying what the prosecution described as a “pure act of hatred” towards the police.
