‘One man crime wave’ jailed after string of burglaries, homophobic abuse and samurai sword-threats across London

crime spree including homophobic abuse

A man has been jailed and dubbed a “one man crime wave” after a string of burglaries, homophobic abuse and threatening a youth worker with a samurai sword.

Philip Oyelade, 40, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison at Southwark Crown Court last Tuesday (September 22) after going on an extended crime spree throughout 2019.

Oyelade admitted to an assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon at a youth centre in July last year. During the incident, he headbutted a youth worker and threatened them with a samurai sword.

He also pleaded guilty to burglary of a house in Westminster in August, 2019, where he and an accomplice stole £20,000 worth of goods including a driving license, laptops and handbags. The incident also caused £5,000 worth of damage to the house.

In November, Oyelade committed another burglary, which he also admitted to. He was confronted by the owner of a private garage in Maida Vale.

He was arrested at the scene, by which point he was already wanted for four other burglaries, three residential and one non-residential, within the previous two months.

Oyelade was found to be in possession of a class B drug, and began hurling homophobic abuse at the police officers who were arresting him. He pleaded guilty to possession of the drug and to a Section 5 Public Order Act offence for the abuse.

Detective constable Sam Ekeocha, from Central West basic command unit’s criminal investigation department, said in a statement: “It would not be an exaggeration to describe Philip Oyelade as a one man crime wave in the W9 postcode.

“He is a violent man who did not think twice about breaking into people’s homes in broad daylight.

“It was the bravery of the residents, workers and police officers of the W9 area which lead to his arrest and subsequent conviction.”