Two men jailed over violent street attack and theft

Two men have been jailed for attacking a man in the street and stealing his bag in Long Eaton.

The incident happened when the victim, who has a number of vulnerabilities, was outside a shop in Tamworth Road at just before 9:30pm on Saturday 30th May.

The victim, a man aged in his 20s, was approached by Gareth Moyes and Matthew Gavin on bicycles who began cycling close to him back and forth.

He tried to walk away but the pair followed him and positioned him against a wall so he would struggle to escape.

Moyes then moved closer and punched the man, causing him to fall to the ground. Whilst on the floor he delivered a further five punches to the victim’s head and face.

Moyes then threw the victim over his bike, which was on the floor, and proceeded to use the front wheel to strike him to the face.

During the attack, Gavin bent down and removed the victim’s bag, which contained a mobile phone and a vape, and had been resting on the man’s chest.

The suspects then walked away from the scene.

The incident was reported to police and officers from the Neighbourhood Acquisitive Crime Team (NACT) worked closely with the Long Eaton Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) to carry out fast-paced enquiries.

Officers reviewed CCTV footage and thanks to the community knowledge of officers, the two suspects were quickly arrested.

Moyes answered ‘no comment’ during police interview.

Gavin started the interview answering ‘no comment’ but began talking after being shown the CCTV.

He claimed he had no involvement and couldn’t remember what he was doing on the evening when the attack happened.

Both were charged over the incident.

Moyes (47) of Regent Street, Long Eaton, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for eight months.

Gavin (38) of Orchard Street, Long Eaton, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft from a person and was sentenced to four months in prison.

Both were jailed during a sentencing hearing at Derby Crown Court on Friday 2nd October.

Detective Constable Evangeline Grant, who led the investigation, said: “This was a vicious attack on an innocent victim, which was carried out in public and understandably will have caused concern in the community.

“But this case is a prime example of how different policing teams work together, share information and act quickly in order to track down and put away serious criminals.

“We take all forms of acquisitive crime very seriously here in Derbyshire, which is why we have a dedicated team working tirelessly to target those responsible for stealing from others in order to keep our communities safe.”