TikTok prankster Mizzy stole woman's phone as he rode past on e-bike | 2I10HD1 | 2024-04-30 11:08:01
Controversial TikTok prankster Mizzy has been found guilty of stealing a woman's phone.
Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro, was riding a Lime e-bike in Central London when he snatched the phone out of victim Ruby Hewitt's hand in June 2022.
He then ran away from police, threw the phone in a bush and hid behind a tree to try and escape arrest.
O'Garro, who was aged 17 at the time, had been approached by police for unrelated reasons shortly after taking the phone – but after they tracked him down they arrested him.
In his own defence he claimed a friend had given him the phone, explaining why his fingerprints were on it, and said he'd run from police because he was 'scared'.
But the magistrate at Highbury Corner magistrates court found this 'not credible' and O'Garro was found guilty or theft.
</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Miss Hewitt was walking down Highbury New Park in Islington at about 1pm on June 15, 2022 when a man grabbed her iPhone 13 Pro Max, worth about £1,000, from her hand while she was texting.
Three Met Police officers, who didn't see the phone theft, later became suspicious of O'Garro when he showed 'erratic behaviour, going in and out of the road and moving on to the pavement' – and the area was known as a 'prolific phone snatching' hotspot.
O'Garro, now aged 19, told the court he had been given the phone by a friend he was cycling with but had taken no part in the earlier theft.
He added: 'Sometimes I don't feel comfortable talking to the police because of the negative stereotypes they have in the area.'
Keren Weekes, defending, said while O'Garro admitted he had been given the phone by a friend shortly before encountering the police officers, there was insufficient evidence to show it was he who had taken it.
Giving the verdict, presiding magistrate Fros Kyriacou said she accepted police and witness evidence.
She added there was 'no mention at all of any second or third cyclist' in the area at the time of the offence by any of the witnesses.
O'Garro was granted unconditional bail to appear for sentencing at the same court on June 13.
Who is Mizzy and what did they do?
19-year-old Mizzy, from Hackney, rose to fame on social media app TikTok in 2023 for his provocative and controversial prank videos.
He has had multiple run-ins with the police, including failing to comply with a community protection notice when he uploaded footage entering a stranger's home.
His stunts included pretending to steal an elderly woman's dog and entering random cars while claiming it was his Uber ride.
He also broke into Alton Towers, rode an electric bike into a Sainsbury's, tried to leapfrog over an Orthodox Jewish man's back, and approached young people in the street at night asking if they 'want to die'.
He's been heavily criticised by the media, and was interviewed by Piers Morgan on TalkTV where the presenter called him a 'complete moron' and Mizzy claimed British laws weren't strong enough to deter him.
He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison back in November, and insisted that he wanted to change his ways once he was released.
Is Mizzy banned from TikTok and social media?
Mizzy has been banned from using social media with a court order – however he flouted this within hours.
On May 15 of last year he was given a criminal behaviour order which said he must not 'directly or indirectly' post videos on social media without the documented consent of the people filmed.
But just a day later he uploaded a series of videos featuring pranks which appeared to have been filmed before the order was issued.
He was back in court in October where judge Matthew Bone said he was 'lacking all credibility' and banned him from using social media 'at all', except to send messages.
O'Garro's accounts on TikTok and YouTube have been banned, but he still has accounts on X, Instagram, Kick, Twitch, and his own Discord channel as well as an account on Spotify where he has uploaded four songs.
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