A Brighton man has been jailed for stealing an e-scooter from a group of children in a violent robbery.
Roman Lee, 19, of Clarence Square, Brighton, was already serving a suspended sentence for a number of violent offences when he approached a group of teenagers in Eldred Drive, in Westdene.
He threatened them, assaulted one boy and took his e-scooter on Monday 31 October last year – then stashed the scooter at a nearby address.
Sussex Police said: “An investigation was launched and Lee, who was wearing a distinctive yellow tracksuit during the incident, was identified as a suspect.
“He was traced to the linked address where the e-scooter was discovered as well as the yellow tracksuit.
“Lee was arrested on suspicion of robbery, charged and remanded in custody while awaiting sentencing.”
At Lewes Crown Court on Thursday 16 February, Judge Martin Huseyin activated the suspended sentence and jailed Lee for a total of 30 months.
Detective Constable Victoria Thornton-Green said: “Roman Lee is an individual well known to police in Brighton, with a demonstrable history of violent crime.
“Lee had been serving a suspended sentence for multiple violent offences and, rather than using this as an opportunity to pursue a less destructive path, he carried out an unprovoked attack on a group of innocent young people.
“I would like to thank them for reporting the incident to us and supporting the investigation.
“I hope this custodial sentence can offer peace of mind that justice has been done.”
“I hope this custodial sentence can offer peace of mind that justice has been done.”
And has justice been done? 30 months? What sort of justice is that? Multiple violent offences! What planet are our judges living on?
Meybe he used the argument that, by removing the scooter, he was ensuring that it wouldn’t be ridden illegally by the children and was therefore doing the law a favour.
I was in the court room, he had the reason to back himself up. He also got self defence on a few charges. Free Roman Lee