London 'Cinderella' phone snatcher jailed after bystanders knock him off his bike

A 29-year-old man described by prosecutors as a habitual offender has been jailed for 15 months for stealing a mobile phone in central London last summer after bystanders knocked him off his bike. Spencer Duarte was identified in part by DNA recovered from a single shoe left at the scene, enabling detectives to link him to the theft of a phone from a passerby in Ludgate Hill on Aug. 7 of the previous year. The case drew attention for the dramatic, bystander-led intervention captured on CCTV and the way investigators traced the suspect through the footwear left behind.

The victim was Brian de Clare, a 66-year-old who worked as an advisor on climate issues to former U.S. President Bill Clinton. In broad daylight, Duarte, dressed in fluorescent gear and riding a bicycle, snatched the phone from De Clare as he walked along Ludgate Hill around midday. A handful of city workers and members of the public tackled Duarte, pulling him from his bike and attempting to detain him. Despite the effort, Duarte eventually escaped, although one of his shoes—an item that later proved crucial to the investigation—was left behind on the pavement. The incident was described by the judge as shocking and was cited in court as directly affecting public sentiment about safety in the City of London.

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City of London Police forensic manager Andrew Walker credited the case as an unusual example of how a single piece of crime scene footwear can unlock an investigation. He dubbed Duarte the “Cinderella phone snatcher” after investigators recovered DNA from the shoe that produced a major profile in the national DNA database and led to his identification and arrest. The police noted that Duarte had also abandoned a rucksack containing face coverings and two rolls of kitchen foil at the scene; the foil was reportedly intended to wrap the phone to hamper tracking and unlocking of the device before it could be erased.

Prosecutor Patricia Deighan told the court that the victim was walking on Ludgate Hill around noon when the phone was ripped from his hand. After a struggle, the defendant rode off toward Ludgate Circus but was tackled by bystanders, forcing him to abandon his bicycle. The shoe recovered at the scene became a key link: investigators said the DNA profile obtained from the shoe matched a male whose profile had already been uploaded to the national database. In describing the impact of the incident, De Clare said he had long visited London for work and travel, but the event left him with a heightened sense of fear about returning to the city. The victim noted that the experience had altered how he views what had previously been a routine day in the capital.

The court heard that Duarte appeared in Inner London Crown Court wearing beige cargo trousers, a beige T-shirt and glasses, accompanied by his mother. A probation report indicated he told a probation officer he owed his cannabis supplier £460 and that he planned to steal phones to repay the debt. He said his prior theft offenses were tied to gang activity in Islington and that he avoided returning to London because the city’s environment tended to trigger his offending behavior. His defense argued that Duarte had been out of work since a motorcycle accident in 2021 had left him with arthritis, making him unsuitable for unpaid work. Parveen Mansoor, Duarte’s barrister, said her client wished to apologize to De Clare and acknowledged a history of cannabis use beginning in youth. She noted Duarte had been distressed by media coverage labeling him as the “Cinderella” thief and emphasized there was no “fairytale ending” to his case.

Judge Freya Newbery underscored the severity of the offense, describing the CCTV footage as shocking and highlighting the risk to pedestrians in a busy area of the city. She pointed to Duarte’s apparent athleticism in both the cycling and escape and noted that the incident had caused real fear among people who work and live in central London. The judge said the public’s response—lawful disruption of the theft by bystanders—emphasized a broader sense of collective responsibility for safety in a dense urban area. Duarte was found to have seven prior convictions for 29 offenses related to theft and dishonesty, and his case included references to a 2015 incident in which a gang robbed 14 Louis Vuitton handbags from a Chelsea store.

The case arrives amid broader data showing substantial street-level theft of mobile phones in London. Police officials have reported that roughly nine phones per hour were reported stolen across the capital last year, a figure tied to a street value of about £20 million, with replacement costs for devices and related losses reaching around £50 million. James Conway, the Metropolitan Police’s lead on phone theft, commented that the scale of these thefts underscores the importance of targeted patrols and CCTV coverage in catching perpetrators and deterring would-be thieves. De Clare, who continues to travel for business and personal reasons, told reporters that while the theft did not deter him from returning to London, it did alter his sense of safety on the streets.

Duarte’s sentencing comes after a long history of offenses. Prosecutors noted that he has seven prior convictions for theft and dishonesty and had previously been part of a gang that stole from a luxury retailer. Authorities indicated that the investigation relied on a combination of robust police work, extensive CCTV footage, and the DNA match from the shoe to bring Duarte before the courts. The matter highlighted the role of public intervention in street-level crime and the potential for DNA evidence to corroborate witness and CCTV accounts in fast-moving offenses.

In remarks to a probation officer, Duarte described his circumstances at the time of the offence: he was unemployed following a motorcycle accident, faced cannabis addiction, and indicated plans to address his behavior with help. His defense team suggested that the case should be viewed through the lens of rehabilitation and public safety, rather than solely as a punitive matter. The Crown contends that the theft of a phone, particularly in a city as densely populated as London, carries significant risk to everyday life and underscores the need for continued vigilance by residents and visitors alike. The City of London Police reaffirmed their commitment to pursuing and prosecuting thieves who exploit crowded urban spaces, and the department indicated that modern policing techniques, including DNA analysis and community partnerships, play a critical role in solving cases like this.