“These were carefully planned attacks on innocent members of the public”
(Left to right) Bilal Jama and Michael Ogbeide-John(Image: GMP)
Two violent teenage thugs used alias profiles to scour out their victims on Facebook Marketplace before attacking or threatening them, a court has heard.
Bilal Jama and Michael Ogbeide-John, both aged 17, used various names on the social networking site to falsely advertise a bike they were selling before going on to rob and attack their victims when they met to pay for the items, a court heard.
The first incident occurred after a victim reported to police that he messaged an account on Facebook on December 20 last year. The account was under the name ‘Angela Davies’.
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The victim was trying to purchase a grey mountain bike which was advertised by the seller for £140, and after making arrangements to meet, arrived the following day on Naburn Street, in Manchester.
Two people, later uncovered as Jama and Ogbeide-John, were captured on CCTV with their faces covered arriving and interacting with the victim. Feeling ‘scared and intimidated’ by the two males, the victim then started to run whilst shouting for help, Greater Manchester Police.
The pair both caught up with him, before pushing him to the ground, placing their arms around his neck and rummaging through his pockets and stealing £130 which he had brought to buy the bike.
Days later, on December 29, a second victim messaged a marketplace account named ‘Billz Jay’ to purchase a red mountain bike, advertised for £450. He arranged to meet the day after.
Jama approached the victim from behind and told him to follow him to a garage at the back of the address as that is where the bike was stored, court heard. As they walked down a nearby alley, CCTV shows Ogbeide-John get off a pushbike and run up behind the victim, place his arms around his neck and ‘press something sharp beneath his chin’, which caused him to lose consciousness.
CCTV footage captured the second incident(Image: GMP)
CCTV footage showed the incident and also revealed Ogbeide-John looking through a wallet for cash. The ambulance service was called after a passer-by noticed the victim with serious injuries unconscious in the alleyway between Naburn Street and Daisybank Road.
He suffered seven fractures to his jaw, which resulted in him needing six metal plates being inserted and full reconstructive surgery to his face.
The victim was left seriously injured in an alley by the pair(Image: GMP)
Weeks later, on January 20, a third victim listed an E-bike on Facebook Marketplace for £550 and noticed another seller ‘Jacob Verona’ selling a similar bike. The victim suggested they swap bikes along with £80 in cash. The victim asked his dad to go with him for the exchange.
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The following evening, shortly after 7pm, the victim and his father arrived at Kingfisher Close in Longsight and informed the ‘Jacob Verona’ account that they were waiting outside the agreed address.
One of the defendants messaged back saying “Can you make sure the bike is ready. As I am coming out in shorts”, a court heard.
As the victim was getting the bike out of the car, Jama and Ogbeide-John walked past him, before carrying on walking and waiting on the corner. They were seen to be talking before the pair turn round and head straight for the victim and his father.
Ogbeide-John then put his hands on the handlebars of the victim’s bike saying: “Give me the bike” and before adding he was ‘taking the bike’ either ‘nicely or nastily’.
The victim’s father attempted to protect his son, as Ogbeide-John replied: “Do you want me to stab you?”. The victim reported seeing the outline of a shape that resembled a knife and left the scene.
Greater Manchester Police officers, who were still investigating the previous two incidents, determined that all three were linked robberies.
On January 24 this year, officers spotted a man walking past Longsight Police Station who they believed matched the description of Ogbeide-John. He was detained and arrested on suspicion of robbery.
Bilal was arrested two days later after evidence seized from Ogbeide-John led officers to his identity. Both were charged with four counts of robbery each.
Both were sentenced on Tuesday (October 14) at Manchester Crown Court after earlier pleading guilty to three counts of robbery and one of attempted robbery. Ogbeide-John additionally plead guilty to possession of a bladed article.
Jama, of Kingsmere Avenue, Levenshulme was sentenced to three-and-a-half years. Ogbeide-John, of Meldon Road, Longsight, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Detective Inspector Natalie McDonald from GMP’s Manchester Central Neighbourhood Crime Team, said: “These were carefully planned attacks on innocent members of the public, that left their homes in the morning to go and buy a bike. They trusted in good will and the actions that greeted them were truly appalling.
“As a team, we worked relentlessly to find out what happened, we were working against the clock as we knew the pair would strike again if they were not stopped.
“The crimes were carried out purely for greed, they lured the victims in and knowing they had money on them and then violently robbed them of their cash and we hope the sentence passed today can give some comfort for the victims to know that these two males have been jailed to think about their actions.”