A “dominant and dangerous” thief has been convicted of being part of a gang of four people who crashed into the home of former English footballer Ashley Cole and threatened to cut off his fingers.
The former Arsenal, Chelsea and Derby defender told police he thought “I’m going to die now” as he recalled how the masked assailants tied his hands behind his back while holding his young daughter on January 2020.
Nottingham Crown Court learned that Kurtis Dilks was the only one in the gang responsible for the robbery who was captured after his DNA was recovered from the cable flanges used to restrain Cole and his partner, Sharon Canu. .
The 35-year-old messenger claimed his DNA was found in the cable ties and a knife was recovered from the scene site in Fetcham, Surrey, because they were items that had previously been stolen from his van.
Dilks was convicted along with five other people for his roles in a series of robberies and “mercilessly executed” robberies between October 2018 and January 2020.
In addition to the attack on Cole, Dilks was found guilty of conspiring to rob the wife of former Tottenham, Hull and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019 along with other defendants Ashley Cumberpatch and Andrew MacDonald.
The trio were also convicted of being involved in the theft of a £ 3.5 million tiara that led to the coronation of Edward VII of the Harley Gallery at the Welbeck estate in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in 2018.
Dilks showed no emotion when the jurors announced their verdicts Friday.
Kurtis Dilks, who will be convicted on July 15, photographed this month. Photography: Jacob King / PA
The 10-week trial showed CCTV footage of Cole’s house showing the former footballer, dressed only in his underpants, was being led up and down the stairs by thieves. Watches, mobile phones, cash, a Gucci bag, headphones and a smart BMW key were stolen during the attack, the court reported.
After the robbery, Cole told police, “I was on my knees, waiting to be killed … I will never see my children again.”
It is understood the investigation into the robbery continues and police are still searching for the other three people involved.
Jurors learned that Cole had been working as Chelsea’s youth coach at the time of the attack and had just set out to watch a film on Netflix when he heard a “vibrating noise through the walls”.
Opening the case against Dilks at the start of the trial, prosecutor Michael Brady QC said Cole told his partner to call police, which he did after hiding in a closet.
He told the jury, “The next thing Mrs. Canu found out was when one of the thieves opened the closet door and grabbed her phone while she was talking to the police. Mrs. Canu followed the intruder and went being addressed wordlessly by the man who had taken his phone to the bedroom where Mr. Cole was in. Then he saw Mr. Cole on his knees with his hands tied behind his back.
Brady said Mrs Canu became increasingly concerned after seeing a “huge” hammer the thieves had used to crush the folding doors on the ground floor so they could enter the house.
The prosecutor told the court that after Cole had insisted he had no jewelry or watches, one of the intruders “grabbed the back of his neck and squeezed it.” Brady said Mrs. Canu was threatened with a knife.
“Ms. Canu initially bravely refused to have her hands tied,” he said. “It’s understandable that this courage evaporated to some extent when she was threatened with a knife.” The man said, ‘Do you want that?’ – that is, the knife.
Quick guide
How do I sign up for last minute sports news alerts?
Show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store for iPhones or the Google Play Store for Android phones by searching for “The Guardian.”
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you have the latest version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon) and then Notifications.
- Enable sports notifications.
Thanks for your comments.
Brady continued, “At this stage, Mr. Cole’s hands were also tied to his back with similar ties. Then Mr. Cole was grabbed by his arms. He saw how distressed his family was.
Mr Cole mentioned that one of the attackers, a burly and more aggressive man who spoke with an Irish accent, went on to say, ‘Let’s cut off his fingers.’ At that time he was armed with a pair of tweezers.
Despite the burly thief’s efforts to attack him with pliers, the thief whom Mr. Cole described as the “boss man,” the one who had first approached him in his bedroom and grabbed him by the neck , prevented the attack from succeeding “.
The court learned that the thieves fled after one shouted “Police.”
Dilks, of Whitegate Vale, Clifton, Nottingham, will be sentenced in the same court on 15 July.