A 27-year-old man has been found guilty of robbing Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife in a knifepoint raid at their home two years ago.
Jo Jobson was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court – the third man to be convicted over the incident.
Cavendish and his wife Peta were threatened during the raid at their house in the Ongar area of Essex.
A balaclava-clad gang, armed with large knives, took two Richard Mille watches worth a total of £700,000 during the robbery in November 2021.
Jobson had handed himself in to Chelmsford police in June, 18 months after officers first identified him as a suspect.
He pleaded not guilty to two counts of robbery. After two days of deliberating, the jury found Jobson guilty. The accused was seen shaking his head at the unanimous verdict.
Edward Renvoize, prosecuting, said the group had threatened the couple and “meted out violence to Mark Cavendish” during the 2.30am raid, which took place while the couple’s children were at home.
He described the robbery as a “well-orchestrated and executed, planned invasion of a home of well-known individuals with the intention of grabbing high-value timepieces”.
However, he noted an intruder took Mrs Cavendish’s phone during the incident, only to leave it outside the property in a “significant error in what was an otherwise carefully executed plan”.
Mr Renvoize said DNA was found on the woman’s phone attributed to Ali Sesay, from Rainham, Kent, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of robbery over the same crime.
The DNA allowed officers to “identify a number of other telephone numbers that appear to have been involved in the offence” – including Jobson’s.
Judge Timothy Walker told Jobson: “The evidence against you was overwhelming.”
Fourth suspect sought over 2021 robbery
He remanded him in custody until Wednesday, when he is due to be sentenced.
Jobson said “thank you” before he was led from the dock of the court to the cells.
In February this year, two men were jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court for their roles in the robbery.
Romario Henry, 31, of Bell Green, Lewisham, southeast London, had denied two counts of robbery but was found guilty after an earlier trial and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Ali Sesay, 28, of Holding Street, Rainham, Kent, admitted two counts of robbery and was jailed for 12 years.
George Goddard, from Loughton in Essex, has been named as a suspect. He has not been taken into custody.
During the robbery, Mrs Cavendish heard noises downstairs and went to investigate. She saw the group, and tried to shout to her husband to get back into the bedroom.
Cavendish, who at the time was recovering from a cycling injury, attempted to press a panic alarm but was jumped on by an intruder who began punching him in the head.
He told the court that one of the men took out a knife and “held it in my face” before threatening to “stab him up” in front of his children.
Mrs Cavendish, speaking at Henry and Sesay’s sentencing, said the robbery had “turned a loving family home into a constant reminder of threat and fear”.
