Mugger wins jail cut

A Newham man jailed indefinitely for his part in a violent house raid has had his potentially lifelong sentence overturned at the Court of Appeal.

Mohammed Johnson, 22, was given indefinite imprisonment for public protection (IPP) at Snaresbrook Crown Court last November for four robberies and an aggravated burglary.

Johnson, of Formunt Close, Canning Town, could have spent the rest of his life in prison.

But the sentence was overturned on Wednesday (3/11) when judges decided a seven-and-a-half year term, with two-and-a-half years of extended licence conditions on release, was enough.

The pair had raided a Tower Hamlets home after grabbing the owner off the street.

Armed with a meat cleaver and knives from the kitchen they threatened other residents into handing over their property before making off.

Both had already been involved in a spate of street muggings over a 10-day period, in which victims were forced to give their bank card details, often with violence meted out.

Johnson’s lawyers argued that the crown court judge should have considered an alternative to the indefinite prison term.

He had no convictions for violent crime, came from a good family and had behaved himself well since he had been sent to prison, they said.

They agreed.

His partner was not as fortunate as they supported his IPP sentence.