A 19-year-old Algerian teenager who tried to rob a Bridgerton star and threatened to decapitate singer Aled Jones is facing more jail time after admitting to arming himself with a machete to steal luxury watches.
asserted
who → try → watches
Then 16, Zacariah Boulares used a large bladed weapon to rob Mark Turner of his watch in Kensington Square Gardens, west London, on August 9, 2023.
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Boulares → use → August
He struck ten days later in a failed bid to steal a Rolex from Dutch executive Neil Tallantire outside a Waitrose in Bayswater, west London.
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He → strike → Bayswater
Boulares had threatened Mr Jones in Chiswick High Road, west London, the month before – telling him he would cut off his head after snatching his £17,000 Daytona Rolex watch.
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he → threaten → watch
The teenager, now 19, is still serving a 22-month prison sentence for an incident in February last year, when he tried to steal actress Genevieve Chenneour's mobile phone at a branch of Joe & The Juice on Kensington High Street.
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he → serve → Street
Boulares appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in August to plead guilty to the robbery of Mr Turner, having admitted the attempted robbery against Mr Tallantire at an earlier hearing.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of a machete during both incidents.
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He → appear → incidents
Lydia Stevens, prosecuting, previously told the court Mr Tallantire and his partner Jonathan Lukes were shopping when they were approached by the teenager.
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they → prosecute → teenager
Boulares (pictured) is facing more jail time today after he used a machete to steal one luxury watch and attempt to steal another
Pictured: The moment Boulares was arrested by Met Police officers on February 21 last year - his 18th birthday
The moment Ms Chenneour (in white) reaches out to stop Boulares stealing her phone in February last year
They saw Boulares pull a 'large curved blade' from his waistband or pocket, which he brandished at the executive's wrist before chasing them down the road.
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he → picture → road
Mr Lukes told the court in a prepared statement: 'We both ran, holding up a shopping bag to defend ourselves; he was chasing after us and shouting, "I'll cut off your hand!"'
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I → tell → hand
Eventually the teenager abandoned his pursuit and was later picked up by police.
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teenager → abandon → police
In his victim impact statement, Mr Tallantire said he had trouble sleeping and was receiving therapy for anxiety.
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he → say → anxiety
He said: 'I no longer feel safe in a neighbourhood I've known for 30 years.
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I → say → years
I immediately panic where anyone tries to brush past me and am taken back to that day.
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anyone → panic → day
I get chills down my spine.'
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I → get → spine
Mr Turner, whom Boulares had targeted ten days earlier, said he now wore a replica Rolex of no real value, adding: 'Being threatened in a familiar place on a sunny afternoon had a lasting effect.'
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threatened → target → effect
Boulares was jailed at Isleworth Crown Court in July last year for a series of crimes including the attempt to steal Ms Chenneour's phone and a theft from a blind woman.
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Boulares → jail → woman
Judge Martin Edmunds KC, the Recorder of Kensington and Chelsea, told a sentencing hearing at the time how Boulares had targeted wealthy areas for 'rich pickings'.
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Boulares → tell → pickings
The judge described the defendant's approach as a 'systematic pattern of stealing from people as they are enjoying a meal or refreshment at a restaurant'.
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they → describe → restaurant
Singer and TV presenter Aled Jones was among Boulares' intended targets - being told he would be decapitated if he followed the thief after being deprived of his Rolex
Genevieve Chenneour - pictured earlier this week in London - was also one of Boulares' previous victims
Mr Edmunds told Boulares: 'You seem to be plagued by an attitude that if people can afford nice things, then you can take them.
'
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you → intend → them
It's clear you are completely willing to use violence when challenged, and it's a matter of the deepest regret that individuals have been left feeling they don't want to come to London or they should leave London.'
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they → use → London
The court heard Boulares has already accumulated 12 convictions for 28 offences, including violence, threatening behaviour, weapon possession and theft.
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Boulares → hear → violence
His attack on Aled Jones saw the thief trail the singer along the road before pulling out a machete, shouting: 'Give me your Rolex or I will cut your arm off.
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I → see → arm
After a terrified Mr Jones handed over the watch, Boulares told him: 'Walk the other way or I will cut your head off.'
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I → hand → head
He was sentenced to a 24-month youth detention and training order, having also admitted stealing a £20,000 Rolex from a man in his seventies at Paddington station in west London in May 2023.
Ms Chenneour had been waiting for her order at Joe & The Juice when Boulares came up behind her and reached out to grab her iPhone 14 from the side in February last year.
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Boulares → sentence → February
CCTV captured the moment the former athlete – who had been given fight training for past roles – confronted the would-be thief and wrestled him to the ground before striking him repeatedly with the phone he had tried to steal.
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he → capture → phone
He later admitted the crime, alongside the theft of a blind woman's handbag at Five Guys in Thurloe Street, Kensington and stealing another woman's rucksack as she dined at Pizza Pilgrims on Kingly Street in central London, in early 2025.
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she → admit → 2025
Chenneour has previously spoken of the terrifying moment she fought off the teenage thug, who tried to steal her phone while she was waiting for her Joe & The Juice order.
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she → speak → order
The actress, who appeared in season three of the Netflix hit show as rumour-monger Clara Livingston, told The Mail on Sunday last year: 'They didn't expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.'
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I → appear → myself
Yorkshire-born Chenneour added: 'I was left with a concussion just before the Screen Actors Guild Awards and since then, I've felt constantly on edge.
'
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I → bear → edge
Even my dog was traumatised - now, if anyone touches me, he panics and tries to protect me.
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he → traumatise → me
Getting a coffee shouldn't be something you need your wits about you for.
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you → get → you
'I'm so grateful to the staff at Joe & The Juice – they were incredible during the incident and when I went back to see them after.'
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I → go → them
The Aporia
