Robber took iPhone handset from Leeds city centre drinker at knife point

Musa Conteh, who has a string of similar offences to his name, was part of a gang that cornered a reveller on Call Lane and took his iPhone after telling him he had a knife.

He was jailed for 54 months at Leeds Crown Court this week after the judge said he “simply won’t learn his lesson”.

Prosecutor Jennifer Gatland said that the victim had been out with friends in Leeds in the early hours of May 19 and was walking near to the Corn Exchange when he was approached by a gang of males, including Conteh, who demanded he hand over his phone.

When he refused, Conteh told him he had a blade, so in fear of being stabbed, the man handed over the device. They walked away but the victim shouted something towards the group. It was unclear what took place next, but the man was attacked and suffered injuries.

CCTV was used to track the gang and 25-year-old Conteh was identified.

However, the court heard that a phone was also snatched from a victim’s hand on a London street in August of 2022.

Although there was insufficient evidence to identify the culprit, Conteh, of Crofton Road, Plaistow, London, was caught fraudulently using the phone and the victim’s bank account to buy goods a day later. He was identified from CCTV from two shops in Stratford in London.

Appearing in court via video link from HMP Pentonville, he admitted robbery and fraud. He has three convictions for 16 offences, many for theft and robbery, and had spent time in jail previously.

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Mitigating, Rachel Webster said: “He said to me ‘I’m so sorry and I take full responsibility for my actions and I know what I have done is wrong’.”

She said he wanted to move to Spain to “start his life again”.

Judge Ray Singh told Conteh: “You have significant and relevant offences. These are very serious offences. There was a threat of violence, a threat to stab him.

“Your previous convictions are all of a similar nature. You simply won’t learn you lesson. There’s really no mitigation available to you.”