‘Sinister attackers’ attacked innocent man they didn’t know in Scunthorpe

A group of four men attacked and robbed an innocent Scunthorpe man after travelling from London.

They were later tracked down by police and found with an imitation firearm and fake police uniforms, as well as other weapons.

At Grimsby Crown Court, all four, described as ‘sinister attackers’ were found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery after they travelled 180 miles from London to Scunthorpe to launch the unprovoked attack on the 41-year-old man.

Following a 22-day trial, all four men were found unanimously guilty of the following offences:

• Mark Baguena, 44-years-old, of King Henry’s Mews in Enfield has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery
• Vincent Bennett, 45-years-old, of Government Row in Enfield has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence
• Safin Mohammed, 45-years-old, of Upper Tollington Park in London, has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery
• Sukhvinder Singh-Degwa, 45-years-old, of Fassett Square in London has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence

All four men were remanded into custody to appear at Hull Crown Court for sentencing in January.

On November 28, 2023, the four men set out on a trip that would cause injuries to a man they didn’t know in a ‘sinister’ and ‘predatory’ attack.

Sukhvinder Singh-Degwa and Vincent Bennett had contacted each other days prior to the incident taking place to arrange the robbery and plan for Safin Mohammed and Mark Baguena to be involved too. Singh-Degwa arrived to pick them up in his VW along with Mohammed, and together they travelled to South Yorkshire, arriving in Doncaster at around 2pm.

Baguena subsequently hired a Citroen van, and with Bennett in the passenger seat, they travelled to Scunthorpe with Singh-Degwa in convoy driving the VW. Arriving at 4.20pm, Baguena parked the van on Dale Street in Scunthorpe, directly opposite the home address of the victim they were intending to attack. Mohammed was then seen on CCTV driving the VW out of sight to hide away on a parallel street.

Meanwhile, the victim, who was not known to the four individuals, left his business shortly after 5pm and drove home, just like any other Tuesday. He reversed his vehicle onto his driveway, as he always did, oblivious to the fact Baguena, Singh-Degwa and Bennett were hiding in the van just over the road, waiting to pounce.

As the man was walking to his front door, Bennett and Singh-Degwa approached him from behind, with Singh-Degwa launching the first blow.

Bennett subsequently wielded a weapon from his pocket, brandishing what the victim thought to be a handgun, and pointed it at him, making threats to shoot him. He then proceeded to strike the victim with the butt of the gun to his head causing an injury to the left side of his face.

Baguena then alighted from the van and made his way to the end of the driveway where he acted as a lookout for Bennett and Singh-Degwa in their unfolding attack.

In the commotion, the victim fell over a wall onto the floor, but Singh-Degwa and Bennett continued their attack while he was defenceless on the ground.

Due to the commotion, a neighbour became aware of the situation which caused all three men to then flee from the scene of the attack. They were captured on CCTV running around the corner, leaving the parked van.

Once alone, the victim, who suffered injuries to his face realised that the assailants also stole his house and vehicle keys and subsequently called 999.

Humberside Police armed officers were deployed, and an area search was conducted in a bid to locate and arrest those involved.

In a thorough search of the van, a phone, set of keys and wallet belonging to Baguena were found inside, and the VW was located with all four of the suspects inside at around 6.50pm on Mulgrave Street, close to where the incident had taken place.

Armed officers then conducted a formal armed detention of the vehicle and the occupants, and each of the men were searched. During the search, a butterfly knife and knuckle duster was found, along with four mobile phones, forensic evidence later identifying two of which to be Baguena’s.

Two bags were discovered to be full of imitation police uniform items including stab vests, baseball caps and T-shirts. Bennett was also found to be in possession of a police warrant card, and subsequently, all four men were arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause intimidation, conspiracy to commit robbery, impersonating a police officer, and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon – a knuckle duster, and butterfly knife.

An investigation was launched, and as part of multiple lines of enquiry, the VW car was found to belong to an executive taxi company in London and formally registered to Singh-Degwa who used the vehicle for both business and personal use. CCTV trawls then identified the Citroen van as being hired by Baguena from a company in Doncaster.

As a result all four men were charged and remanded into custody. They pleaded not guilty to all offences and a trial was held at Grimsby Crown Court.

Leading the investigation was Detective Constable Scott Belton from Scunthorpe’s Criminal Investigation Department. He said: “This was just another Tuesday evening for the victim who was returning home after a day’s work. He was targeted, four on one, in an unprovoked attack within touching distance of his own home.

“I’d like to commend the victim for their patience throughout the entire court process, and especially for their bravery in making that phone call to us despite his injuries, and especially after what must have been a terrifying ordeal. I know the guilty verdict will not take away any long-term physical and emotional impact this incident has had on him, but I am reassured that all four individuals are being held accountable for their actions and unable to inflict any more serious harm within our communities.

“Baguena, Bennett, Singh-Degwa and Mohammed are four sinister attackers who set out that day to travel over one hundred miles to attack an innocent man, whom they didn’t even know.

“Violent crime of any nature will not be tolerated, and we will always do everything we can to seek justice for victims who have suffered serious injuries, and emotional trauma at the hands of people whose sole purpose is to intimidate and invoke harm in our communities.”

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe