Armed Robbers wearing balaclavas who ransacked house in south London jailed

Jailed: Gary Mowatt, 39

Four armed robbers who raided a house wearing balaclavas and forced their victim to jump out of a window to escape have been jailed.

Gary Mowatt, 39, Sylvanus Scott, 39, Kevin Rodgers, 41 and Peter Nunes, 38, were all found guilty of robbery after they ransacked the house in Woodley Close, Tooting.

Kingston Crown Court heard the men forced entry into the house as the 46-year-old victim slept upstairs in his bedroom at 11.40am on October 16 last year.

The men demanded money from the victim before they began to scour the property for cash.

Guilty: Peter Nunes, 38As they searched the victim seized an opportunity to escape and leapt from his bedroom window while calling for help.

Seconds later the robbers also fled the property and jumped into a black BMW driven by Mowatt.

But they were stopped within minutes as unbeknown to the men they sped past an unmarked police car parked in the area.

Officers arrested all four at the scene and they were taken to a south London police station.

A Tokarev pistol was also seized which was found inside the car.

Armed robbery: Kevin Rodgers, 41The men were found guilty following a two week trial and were sentenced yesterday at Kingston Crown Court.

Mowatt, of Laura Place, Hackney, was sentenced to six years imprisonment and Scott, of Balham Grove, Balham, was jailed for six years and six months.

“Fortunately, officers were close by to swoop in on the suspects and remove a live firearm from the streets.

Prison sentence: Sylvanus Scott, 39

Culled from evening standard.uk