Crime

A fake diamond-encrusted belt and a discarded cigarette butt helped to bring a pair of rapists to justice.

The 14-year-old victim of Jeton Jashari remembered his distinctive initialled belt after he raped her in a wood last year and detectives later found an identical one in his cupboard.
DNA from the saliva left on the cigarette butt found at the crime scene was also used to identify him.

The 18-year-old of Toorack Road, Harrow, was convicted on Monday of raping the teenager in The Grove Open Space in Lowlands Road on September 3.

He and Binak Hasa, 19, had been charged with assaulting two 14-year-olds they had spotted on a 183 bus coming into Harrow from Kings-bury. Hasa, of Salmon Street, Kings-bury, had been accused of raping one of the girls in another part of the wood at the same time, and pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

His brother, who had also been on the bus, followed them from Harrow bus station, in College Road, to Lowlands Recreation Ground, where Hasa and Jashari later caught up with them, the court heard.

Hasa's brother left swiftly, saying he didn't want anything to do with it, the jury was told.

But Hasa and Jashari, both of Albanian descent, followed the girls into a wood in The Grove open space where they began chatting to the two on a fallen log.

When left alone, Jashari pushed the frightened teen to the floor and held her down in the mud, before taking off his trousers and forcing her to perform oral sex on him.

The court heard that the pair also stole a mobile phone from one of their victims and later rang the other saying her friend would have to pay £50 to get it back.

One victim said in interview that her attacker wore a distinctive black leather belt with a buckle containing a fake diamond encrusted J.

n Hasa and Jashari now face lengthy sentences when they reappear at court on April 2.

Police were called at midday on Saturday after an 18-year-old girl was mugged in Station Road, Harrow.

The hooded attacker, believed to be about 20 and 5ft 4in tall, snatched the teenager's handbag, containing £100 cash and bank cards, before running towards an alleyway opposite Lyon Road.

Police have launched a campaign to bring driving offences to a halt by showing felons the consequences of their crimes.

Officers at Harrow on the Hill Safer Neighbourhood Team brought out crushed remnants of impounded cars on Tuesday, to show drivers that crime does not pay.

As part of Operation Reclaim more than 80 cars were pulled over in four hours, of which four were seized and one arrest made for drink-driving.

Cars were seized because the owners had no proof of insurance, but Sergeant Edward Baildon said this kind of crime often revealed more serious activity.

He said: "We started running this operation in the lead up to Christmas, and we have seen that often drivers who are found with no insurance or driving license are responsible for other crimes such as burglary.

"Showing them the result of such crimes with the crushed vehicles just helps to hit home the seriousness of driving offences."

Mr Baildon said drivers of the impounded cars will now have 15 days to give proof of insurance, or their vehicles face being crushed.

Cars above a certain valuation may escape the crusher by being auctioned, while others will be compressed into a cube and recycled.

A handbag and purse worth nearly £100 were taken from a Pinner View home on Friday after a burglar forced open the front door.

The thief is said to have entered the house in Harrow between 12.45 and 7am.

Anyone with information can contact Harrow Police on 020 8423 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Passengers can quiz British Transport Police (BTP) officers next week about crime and safety on the Jubilee line.

The Jubilee Line Neighbourhood Policing Team - comprising one sergeant, two constables and two PCSOs - has been patrolling the line and stations between Stanmore and St Jonh's Wood stops since its launch in August.

They will take questions at the conference room at Wembley Park London Underground Station, Bridge Road, Wembley, on Thursday 5 February from 7pm onwards. It will the second such public Q&A the team has held.

PC Matt Dobbs said: "The neighbourhood team means we can respond to issues and needs more easily, as well as making people feel safer using the Tube.

"We are easy to contact and always welcome feedback from the community.

"These meetings give passengers the opportunity to highlight issues of concern and discuss them with us. ItÕs always very helpful to speak to people face-to-face."

Tunde Taiwo, group station manager for the London Underground's Willesden Green Group, said: "Our staff work closely with the BTP Neighbourhood Policing Teams and whilst crime remains low on our network we know it's important to talk with our passengers as well as the communities that live and work close to our Tube station.

"We are fully supportive of these meetings and hope they'll help everyone move around more confidently and safely across our network."

n Anyone who is unable to attend but would like to share comments can email the Jubilee Line NPT by email at Jubileelinenorth.npt@btp.pnn.police.uk

A burglar posing as a workman and claiming to be looking for a leak stole a handbag from a property in Cavendish Avenue in Sudbury Hill, police have said.

He knocked on the front door of a flat at 1.45pm on Thursday January 15 and the 91-year-old female occupant answered.

The thief told her he was looking for a leaking pipe that was affecting the home below and to this end, searched the kitchen and bathroom and pretended to examine a wardrobe for signs of damp.

Afterwards he told the victim everything was fine and shook her hand before leaving at 2.10pm.

Later, the woman and her husband realised a handbag was missing from the bedroom and called police.

Detectives probing this distraction burglary believe the suspect was white, between 30 and 35 years old, of large build, with brown curly collar length hair.

He was unshaven and wore a dark jacket, blue jeans and trainers.

A rotavator, a cultivator and a generator worth a total of £1,600 was stolen from a 50-year-old gardener.

They went missing from a shed at Newton Park East Allotments, Lucas Avenue, Harrow, between 6pm on Wednesday January 7 and 10 am the following day.

A man drove off in a woman's car after snatching the keys from her hand in Harrow.

The white male, aged about 20, struck in Woodpecker Close, Harrow, at 8.30pm last Wednesday.

As well as her blue Astra the 43-year-old victim lost her handbag and a small amount of cash.

A teenager has been charged with the rape of a schoolgirl in a Harrow park.

Binak Hasa, of Salmon Street, Kingsbury, was arrested following an attack on the 14-year-old in The Grove Open Space, in Lowlands Road last Wednesday (03).

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with an alleged rape in a Harrow Park.

An 18 year old male and a 14 year old male were arrested by Harrow Police this morning (Tuesday) in connection with reports of a rape on two women in The Grove Open Space, Lowlands Road on Wednesday (03).