A Brighton crook who has hit the headlines several times in his brief criminal career is now behind bars for a knifepoint robbery.
Harry Avis, 22, first gained notoriety as one of the ringleaders of an 11-strong gang of car thieves from Whitehawk whose victims included families with children with autism and Down’s syndrome.
The thefts earned him a two-year detention and training order in December 2015 by which time he already had six previous convictions for 38 offences.
A year later he broke into a Hove family’s home and stole their Christmas presents.
In November 2018, he responded to police issuing a £1,000 appeal to return him to prison by taunting them on Facebook. He was arrested a week later in Whitehawk.
This week, he was jailed for three years and four months for robbery and a further three months for having a knife, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The robbery, in Norwich Drive, Bevendean, on Wednesday 30 September, happened just days after Avis had been released on bail by Brighton Magistrates’ Court after being charged with escaping from lawful custody when under arrest for taking a car without the owner’s consent.
Inspector Dan McCarthy said: “Our officers were quick to respond to the initial call and, as a result, gathered evidence from the scene that enabled them to find and arrest Harry Avis, within an hour and a half of the report being made.
“This was a great result and we’re pleased to see a dangerous offender taken off the streets for more than three years. We will continue to target those committing violent crime and carrying weapons in our city and their activities will receive a robust police response.”
At the same hearing, Avis pleaded not guilty to the charge of escaping custody on Sunday 13 September and no evidence was offered by the prosecution.
Avis, unemployed, of Linchmere, Swanborough Drive, Whitehawk, pleaded guilty to mugging Dillon Regnart and having a knife when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday (13 October).
He was arrested after police responded to reports of a man being robbed at knifepoint in Norwich Drive, Brighton, at around 3.30pm on Wednesday 30 September.
Officers attended the scene and, from their inquiries, quickly identified a vehicle suspected of being involved in the offence.
The vehicle was located in at the Goldstone Retail Park, in Newtown Road, Hove, later that afternoon. Police approached the vehicle and found Avis inside, with a large knife and a number of items stolen during the robbery.
Avis was arrested and charged. After pleading guilty to both offences, he was jailed for three years and four months for the robbery and three months for having a knife, to run concurrently.
Not very good at his ‘career’ is he.
Why do sentences always run concurrently rather than consecutively, when we all know they get out with loads of time off the sentence and then many of them offend again. Does anyone think they should get consecutive time for separate charges and serve a larger part of the sentence?
Just asking what people think.