Watch robbery gang jailed after tying up store manager who then killed himself

Three men who plotted a £1.1 million jewellery shop robbery and tied up its manager who then took his own life have been jailed.

Kyle Mehmet, 40, Michael Holmes, 35 and Mannix Pedro, 38, were found guilty of conspiring to rob more than 70 watches from 247 Kettles, in Richmond, London, in May 2024.

Oliver White, 27, was tied up and put in a headlock during the incident at the luxury shop, took his own life the next day as a result of the raid.

Seventy uninsured watches, including a £30,000 Rolex Sky Dweller, were taken while the business owners, Conor Thornton and Joe Riley, were in New York.

During the men’s trials, jurors heard evidence of the detailed planning that conspirators had put into carrying out the robbery.

The thieves carried out detailed planning to carry out the robbery, including stealing a getaway car, using fake licence plates and even having a second car nearby.

After the robbery and in a state of distress, Mr White tried to transfer £14,000 he had saved up to put a deposit down on a flat to his bosses after the theft.

The store owners flew back to London for an ‘intense’ meeting with Mr White the next day, attended by a third businessman, Fred Sines.

Watch dealer Sines, 37, was handed a suspended jail sentence earlier this year for trying to sell the £4.3m gold toilet stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019.

Jurors heard Oliver did not see ‘the risk or bad in anyone’ and ‘showed real enthusiasm for his work at Kettles’.

But he told his girlfriend he had been accused by a man ‘of not putting up enough of a fight’.

Not long after transferring the cash, he went missing and stopped replying to texts or calls. His body was found by a friend in a wooded area he visited as a child.

Mehmet claimed he took part in the robbery because he owed £190,000 to ‘serious criminals’ who he referred to as ‘the firm’.

He believed it was an ‘inside job’ but when he learnt there was a £100,000 ‘bounty’ on his head he fled to Turkey with his wife and children.

Junior Kunu who was also arrested

Paul Goddard, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘The greed of these three men has had considerable, and tragic, consequences.

‘Not only did the business they targeted suffer the loss of over one million pounds’ worth of stock, Oliver White, who was working at the premises, took his own life the following day as a direct result of the robbery.

‘Our thoughts are with Oliver’s loved ones for the terrible loss they have suffered.

‘Mannix Pedro was a key organiser of the robbery and afterwards helped to dispose of the haul.

‘Meanwhile, Kyle Mehmet and another man carried the robbery out, stealing more than 70 watches and tying up Mr White, while Michael Holmes waited nearby.

‘Mehmet, having made good his escape in a stolen car, then met with Pedro and Holmes, before they travelled together to Colchester.

‘This was a complex and difficult case, but by carefully putting all of the evidence together, prosecutors were able to build a comprehensive picture of each defendant’s involvement and present a compelling case, ultimately leading to their convictions.’

Mehmet, of Rotherham, was sentenced to 18 years, Holmes, of Sheffield, was sentenced to 13 years, and Pedro, of Woking, was sentenced to 20 years at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

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