A thief who travelled 100 miles to steal a Rolex watch worth about £20,000 from an elderly man after pretending he wanted to buy it has been jailed. Tichine Asan, 27, posed as a would-be buyer of the expensive timepiece after responding to an advert placed by 86-year-old David Williams.
Asan, who told Mr Williams that he lived in Warrington, actually resided in Hull and travelled 100 miles to Trafford in order to steal the Rolex from him. The watch has never been recovered, while Mr Williams has been left traumatised and out of pocket.
How the theft unfolded
Prosecuting, Olivia Davin said that Mr Williams had placed an advert on Facebook Marketplace, stating that his Rolex Daytona Cosmograph Oyster Perpetual watch, which he’d bought in March 2023 for £20,850, was up for sale. He advertised the watch at the price of £18,000, then reduced it to £17,000.
Mr Williams then received a message from a prospective buyer named ‘Jack Hillma’, who said he lived in Warrington. After negotiating the sale, Mr Williams informed 'Jack' that he was 86 years old and had no relations, and that when they met he would be wearing a black overcoat and holding an Age UK bag.
They arranged to meet up on December 15 last year in Sale town centre near Lloyds bank, which Mr Williams believed would be a ‘safe place’. Mr Williams attended but after he arrived, 'Jack' said he had turned up at the wrong bank and could no longer attend.
Attack and arrest
Mr Williams drove home and parked up his car, soon realising he had been followed into the car park by another vehicle. Asan approached, and began asking questions about parking, which Mr Williams couldn’t understand. He then snatched the bag containing the watch from him. Before he left in the car, Asan slashed one of the tyres of Mr Williams’ vehicle.
Shortly after, Mr Williams called 999. Police were later able to link the IP address used to set up the Facebook account to Asan. Cell site data also showed how he had travelled to and from Hull, where he lives, to commit the crime.
Romanian national Asan was arrested at Luton Airport months later, on May 12, where he had returned on a flight from Bucharest, his home country's capital. After being arrested, police seized his phone and discovered the messages he had sent to Mr Williams using the 'Jack Hillma' Facebook account.
Impact and sentencing
In a statement, Mr Williams said that his ordeal had led him to lose confidence in his day to day life. He told how he usually attends his local conservative club for a drink on a Friday and Saturday night, but has not done so since his watch was stolen. He often wakes up late at night thinking about what happened, the court heard.
Mr Williams said he was going to use the proceeds from the sale of the watch to replace his car, but has now been unable to do so. The watch has never been recovered.
Judge Jenny Lester-Ashworth asked Asan’s barrister what the money from the sale of the watch was used for. He said Asan reported that it had been spent on medical fees in Romania for his mother. But the judge said she would require proof to accept this, adding of Asan: “I’m not minded to take anything he says at face value.”
The court heard that Asan is married with three young children, and that his family would suffer without him as he is the main breadwinner, working for Uber Eats. But the judge ruled that his crimes were so serious that he should be jailed. She said there was a ‘particular public interest in deterring this type of conduct’.
Asan, of Mayfield Street, Hull, pleaded guilty to theft and criminal damage. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Mr Williams was imposed, to last ten years.
