SWMRrobbers – by Jonathan Coles
A pair of violent thugs subjected a man to a shocking assault, leaving him fearing for his life – after knocking on his door and asking to borrow some milk.
Bader Mohamed and Lewis Rowley assaulted the victim for almost an hour after entering his flat in Maidstone, Kent – repeatedly striking his head with a bottle and stamping on him so hard that he lost two teeth.
Kent Police said the duo “subjected their victim to an unimaginable and utterly barbaric ordeal” – “leaving him convinced he was going to die”.
Mohamed and Rowley burst into the victim’s flat on June 9 last year, after Rowley knocked on the door asking to borrow some milk, according to the force.
They then demanded cash and as of one of them searched the property, the other subjected the victim to violence.
He was dragged around the flat, beaten around the head with at least one bottle, punched repeatedly and stamped on whilst on the floor. Mohamed also made attempts to choke him using a piece of string.
The ordeal lasted at least 45 minutes before both men fled, police said.
The victim raised the alarm by running outside before he returned home and found Mohamed in a bedroom trying to start a fire.
Mohamed again ran from the scene but after police attended was quickly located and arrested nearby. Rowley was detained on the following day.
The victim was taken to hospital and needed surgery for some of his injuries. He later picked his attackers out at an identification process.
The investigation also recovered CCTV from a supermarket which showed Mohamed purchasing a bottle of vodka. Images matched one of the bottles recovered from the scene.
Both men were charged but denied any wrongdoing and a trial was held at Maidstone Crown Court.
But a jury found them guilty, by unanimous verdict, of assault with intent to commit robbery.
Mohamed, 37, of Barking, east London, was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Rowley, 25, of no fixed address was convicted of a lesser offence, of grievous bodily harm.
Mohamed was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. When he is released from prison he will be subject to an extended licence period of four years. Rowley was jailed for ten years. He also has an extended licence period, of three years.
Both men were deemed “dangerous” by the judge, who commended the police investigation and told them they will have to serve at least two thirds of their sentences before any chance of parole.
Det Const Josh Littley, of Kent Police, said: ‘Mohamed and Rowley subjected their victim to an unimaginable and utterly barbaric ordeal.
“The victim was convinced he was going to die, particularly when Mohamed was choking him and he was fighting for his life. He was left suffering some horrific injuries which also included a fractured skull.
‘This was an entirely unprovoked and senseless attack, which to this day continues to have a profound impact on the victim’s life, who has been left feeling scared, angry and vulnerable.
“I only hope these significant sentences will go some way to helping him continue to rebuild his trust and confidence in people and that he can once again feel safe within his own home.”
