A man who was jailed for his role in a knifepoint robbery of Olympic cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish and his wife Peta has given no indication of where two high-value watches that were stolen are, a court heard.
Balaclava-wearing intruders broke into the athlete’s home in Ongar, Essex, as he was asleep upstairs with his wife, an earlier trial at Chelmsford Crown Court was told.
Two Richard Mille watches, valued at the time of the trial at £400,000 and £300,000, were among the items taken in the raid at around 2.30am on November 27 2021.
Three men were jailed in 2023 for their roles in the robbery, and a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing began at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Edward Renvoize asked financial investigator Andrew Fleming if it was correct that 28-year-old Jo Jobson, who was convicted of robbery, said he was paid £4,000 to take part.
Mr Flrming agreed.
“Is it also correct he (Jobson) asserted in the document that £6,000 was to be paid on the completion of the job but he wasn’t paid?” asked Mr Renvoize.
Mr Fleming replied: “That’s correct.”
The investigator agreed that the payment of any monies could not be seen in Jobson’s bank account.
Asked if Jobson had “given any indication where the watches are”, Mr Fleming said he had not.
Piers Mostyn, for Jobson, said Jobson was “homeless” when he handed himself into police.
Jobson, who appeared by video-link from prison, did not give evidence at the hearing.
His co-defendants Romario Henry and Ali Sesay were absent.
Henry, 34, of Bell Green, Lewisham, south-east London, and 30-year-old Sesay, of Holding Street, Rainham, Kent were both found guilty of two counts of robbery following a trial in 2023.
Henry was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court to 15 years in prison, while Sesay was jailed for 12 years.
Jobson, who was on the run at the time of the first trial, later handed himself in and was found guilty in a separate trial later that year of two counts of robbery.
Jobson, of no fixed address, was sentenced at the same court to 15 years in prison for his role in the raid.
The charges were that the accused men robbed Sir Mark of a watch, phone and safe, and robbed his wife of a watch, phone and suitcase.
Judge Alexander Mills adjourned the Proceeds of Crime Act hearing until May 7 after information could not be obtained from the prison where Henry is serving his sentence about why Henry was absent from the hearing.
“We’ve ended up in a very unfortunate position as a result of not receiving the information we need from the prison about whether it’s appropriate to proceed in the absence of one of the defendants,” he said.
He said he wanted to pass judgment for all three defendants after hearing the “totality” of the evidence and “it would be premature to come to a judgment ahead of that”.
