Mark Cavendish robbery: Man guilty of armed raid at cyclist’s homeon January 23, 2023 at 3:46 pm

One man has been found guilty of a knifepoint robbery at the family home of elite cyclist Mark Cavendish.

Romario Henry, 31, of Bell Green in Lewisham, south-east London, broke into Mr Cavendish’s home in Ongar, Essex, on 27 November 2021.

The 31-year-old was found guilty of two counts of robbery and will be sentenced on 7 February

Oludewa Okorosobo, 28, of Flaxman Road, Camberwell, south London, was found not guilty by the same jury.

Henry was convicted by a majority verdict of 10 jurors to two, following 14 hours and 35 minutes of deliberation at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Ali Sesay, 28 of Holding Street in Rainham, Kent, had already pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery at an earlier hearing.

Jurors were told how a group of masked intruders made off with two Richard Mille watches, worth a combined £700,000, as well as phones and a Louis Vuitton suitcase.

Prosecutors said Mr Cavendish and wife Peta were in bed with their three-year-old child when they heard “male voices” from downstairs.

Mrs Cavendish said her husband, who had been out of hospital for about four days after breaking his ribs in a cycling crash, was “dragged” from his feet by the intruders who then “started punching him”.

“One of them held a large black knife to his throat and they said ‘where’s the watches?’ and ‘do you want me to stab you?’,” she told the court, describing it as a “Rambo-style” knife.

She said she covered her child with a duvet so they could not witness the robbery.

She said they took her husband’s £400,000 Richard Mille watch, which he wore racing, from a windowsill and her bespoke one-of-a-kind £300,000 Richard Mille watch from a bedside table.

The 37-year-old athlete, who is jointly holds the record for most stage wins in the Tour de France, was a brand ambassador for the designer.

The couple later found the downstairs patio door smashed and called police at 02:35 GMT.

Detectives said they found Mrs Cavendish’s mobile phone was left outside the home, along with Sesay’s DNA.

Henry, giving evidence, admitted being in the Mercedes Benz that travelled from London to Ongar, but claimed he was “out of it” after taking drugs and was not aware of a crime being committed.

Mr Okorosobo said in a prepared statement to police that he was “unable to do any” of the alleged offences, and that “any human could see I’m incapable of doing this”, having been stabbed in the leg in September 2021

He said he had loaned his mobile phone to Sesay, before it connected that night with cell masts in the Ongar area.

Mr Okorosobo – who told the court he previously worked as a delivery driver, in hospitality at the Olympic Stadium in 2012 and as a personal trainer – held his head in his hands when he was found not guilty.

Henry showed no visible reaction.

Two further men, Jo Jobson, from Plaistow, east London, and George Goddard, from Loughton in Essex, were named as suspects during the trial but have not been apprehended.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk