Sean Tuso 21 of Belmont Road, Wallington, Surrey was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to rob. This comes after he was found guilty following a two week trial at Croydon Crown Court that concluded on 4 December 2020. Joshua Norris 22 of Colliers Water Lane, Thornton Heath was sentenced to four years and four months in prison for robbery and for handling stolen goods. This follows a guilty plea entered at Croydon Crown on 25 September 2020. Joseph Hamilton-Peart 20of Craignish Avenue SW16 was sentenced to three years in prison for attempted robbery.
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He entered a guilty plea at Croydon Crown Court on 25 September 2020. All three were sentenced on Wednesday, 16 June, at Croydon Crown Court. The trio were part of a gang which carried out a series of knifepoint commercial robberies in Sutton, Croydon and Lambeth between 23 October and 25 November 2019. This investigation was led by officers from Operation Venice. In each of the robberies, the suspects arrived at the venues on mopeds, wearing crash helmets and dark clothing. They entered the convenience stores armed with Rambo knives and hammers which were used to threaten store owners and shoppers. They then stole cash from the tills, cigarettes and bottles of alcohol. Although CCTV was obtained from each venue, the suspects’ faces were covered and therefore officers had to rely on forensic evidence. During the first offence, a hammer was left behind by one of the suspects and a forensic examination revealed a partial DNA match to Joshua Norris. Sean Tuso was arrested on 31 December 2019 by officers from the Venice Investigation Team.
