Pair jailed in £25K jewellery ploy where friend of 14 years victim was strapped to a chair

A woman who hatched a plan to rob an unwitting family friend in Abbey Wood, has been jailed along with her male accomplice.

On Monday, Woolwich Crown Court sentenced Simone Fortune, 37, of Park Corner Road, Gravesend to five years and three months in prison.

Carlos Lane, 38, of Old Road East, Gravesend, was handed a four-year term for his part in the scheme.

The court heard how Fortune arranged to visit the man at his house during the afternoon of November 23, 2021. She brought along a young girl who she was looking after as part of her plan.

After around 15 minutes, there was a knock at the door, which Fortune insisted on answering. It was Lane, who had been instructed to attend the house.

The pair then acted out a scenario where Lane grabbed Fortune by the hair and threatened to harm her unless the victim co-operated.

Lane instructed Fortune to bind the victim to a chair using tape and then began to steal items including jewellery – the total value stolen was over £25,000.

Throughout the ordeal, Lane and Fortune play-acted the scenario leaving the victim fearful for her safety, and that of the child who witnessed what was going on.

Lane then fled with two bags – one of which was a distinctive JD Sports bag.

Fortune untied the victim and police were called and when the spoke to Fortune, she initially provided a convincing account of what had happened.

However, once police began to examine her story, cracks began to appear.

Using phone records, detectives could see Fortune had travelled to a different location to where she had said she had been, including a trip to a service station on the M25 in the hours prior to the robbery.

CCTV analysis showed Fortune’s car there and her meeting another person – who was identified as Carlos Lane.

Fortune’s car returned to the same service station around an hour after the offence; again she was with Lane – this time, CCTV captured the pair going through the contents of a bag strikingly similar to one of those used by Lane to transport the goods from the robbery.

Officers attended Fortune’s address to execute an arrest warrant and when they arrived, Lane was also present. Both were arrested.

Further analysis of their mobile phone revealed messages exchanged between the pair, discussing how they were attempting to sell some of the items they had stolen.

Both were charged with robbery, and Fortune was additionally charged with perverting the course of justice. They pleaded guilty on March 4.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Toks Jegede, said: “Simone Fortune had been a close friend of the victim and his family for over 14 years but she betrayed that trust in the most despicable manner.

“Not only did she manipulate a situation where she and her partner Carlos Lane could carry out a robbery that left the victim understandably terrified, she even exposed a young child to this frightening situation.”

Pictured top: Simon Fortune (Pictures: Met Police)