A man charged with serving as the driver for a getaway car involved in a £1.38 million watch heist claimed in court that he had never encountered his co-defendant until a video of him circulated on social media.
Mannix Pedro, 37, and Junior Kunu, 30, both refuse to admit any conspiracy with others related to the theft of over 70 high-end watches from the 247 Kettles store in Richmond, southwest London, which occurred in May of the previous year.
The jury learned that 27-year-old office manager Oliver White tragically took his own life the day after the robbery, stating it was “as a direct result” of the incident.
While testifying at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr. Pedro maintained that he had not met Mr. Kunu prior to the trial, noting he first recognized him from a video depicting the alleged theft that had been widely shared on social media.
Additionally, the court was informed that two other individuals implicated in the crime—Michael Ashman and Kyle Bowrage—remain fugitives, having fled the country shortly after the heist on May 25. The stolen watches have yet to be found.
Mr. Pedro, from Cobham, acknowledged he was acquainted with both Mr. Ashman and Mr. Bowrage, stating he had known Mr. Ashman since the summer of 2023 and Mr. Bowrage since early 2024.
During his testimony, he revealed that he and Mr. Ashman collaborated in selling THC-infused vapes, which is the psychoactive component of cannabis.
Furthermore, Mr. Pedro described how he operated an informal car brokerage, assisting clients with poor credit ratings or county court judgments in obtaining rental agreements through a “loophole in the system.”
The prosecution claims that Mr. Pedro, who allegedly drove significant distances on the night following the robbery, was involved in executing the getaway.
Just two days prior to the theft, the court previously heard that three men posed as potential buyers and visited 247 Kettles to examine watches, having arranged the visit via Instagram.
Prosecutor Edward Brown KC characterized this visit as either a failed robbery attempt or reconnaissance for the subsequent heist on May 25.
The prosecution contends that the defendants had distinct roles in the conspiracy, alleging that Mr. Kunu, a resident of Mitcham in southwest London, entered the store to perpetrate the robbery, while Mr. Pedro was “intimately involved in both the planning and execution.”
The trial proceedings are ongoing.
