Three men jailed in robberies that saw one hold toddler at knifepoint

Three men have been jailed for robberies that took place more than a year apart, one of which saw a three-year-old boy threatened to be “cut up” if money was not handed over.

Kwesi Caven, 39, of Priolo Road, Greenwich, Lewis Dormer, 38, of Leyland Road, Lewisham, and Elijah McPhee-Young, 25, of Grant Road, Harrow, were all sentenced at the Inner London Crown Court on Friday of last week to a combined total of nearly 30 years after the robberies in Greenwich and Bromley.

In November 2021, Dormer and Caven entered an address in Greenwich and ordered the victim to hand over money.

The male victim was at his home address in Greenwich with his three-year-old son.

One of the suspects picked up the young boy and threatened: “If you don’t give me the money, I will cut him up.”

The victim handed over £10,000 in cash, which had been recently withdrawn. The men then used cable ties and bound his hands. He was only able to free himself once his partner had returned home.

Police officers discovered that a tracker had been placed on the victim’s car by the group seven days earlier to track the victim’s movements.

In August 2020, McPhee-Young and Caven drove a stolen car at speed in Middle Park Avenue, Mottingham towards a security guard. He was on foot transporting thousands of pounds in cash and valuables in transit van.

The guard was approached by McPhee-Young who was wearing a scarf across the lower half of his face. He was holding a large serrated knife which was pointed at the guard. The guard dropped the container of money and McPhee-Young picked it up and ran to the awaiting car, which was being driven by Caven.

The car was later recovered by officers in Green End Road, Eltham. A forensic analysis of the vehicle linked it to McPhee-Young. They also discovered green and black dye from the cassettes covering the front passenger seat.

Detectives from the Flying Squad launched an investigation including a surveillance operation after McPhee-Young had been identified as a suspect.

Further telephone investigations were carried out which led to the identification of Caven. Additionally, Caven’s forensics were identified on the tracking device found on the victim’s car.

They also discovered Caven was involved in handling two stolen vehicles between May 2020 and August 2020.

Dormer was identified after it was established this had been used to travel to and from the robbery in Greenwich. In July 2022 all three men were arrested.

Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These were shocking incidents which would have been extremely traumatic for those involved.

“This was an immensely complex investigation which demanded dedication and skill to manage the extensive amount of communication data and evidence. Our officers have worked day and night to achieve this outcome.

“Thanks to the complex investigative work by the Flying Squad, these extremely dangerous men will instead be spending time behind bars.”

Pictured top: From left, Elijah McPhee-Young, Lewis Dormer and Kwesi Caven were all jailed for the robberies (Picture: The Met)