Getaway car ‘fixer' found guilty of plotting £1.38m watch robbery that led shop manager to take his own life
19 February 2025, 18:06
A man has been found guilty of planning a £1.38 million watch robbery which ultimately led a man to take his own life.
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Mannix Pedro, 37, was "closely involved in the planning and execution" of the raid of the 247 Kettles shop in Richmond on May 25 last year, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
The shop’s manager, Oliver White, 27, killed himself the following day "as a direct result" of the robbery, jurors had previously been told.
Mr Pedro, of Woking, Surrey, was found guilty of planning the heist on Wednesday by a majority verdict of 10 to one, after more than 23 hours of deliberation.
It comes after Junior Kunu, 30, who is accused of robbing the store, claimed the entire heist was a hoax, with Mr White involved in its planning.
None of the watches stolen in the robbery have been recovered, and none were insured, despite the business being a victim of theft three years earlier, jurors were told.
Mr White was said to have felt "extremely upset" about the incident, during which he was tied up and put in a headlock.
Speaking earlier this month, Mr Kunu made the sensational claim that the entire robbery had been planned, with Mr White allegedly playing a central role in the hoax.
These claims have not been proven.
Mr Kunu told the court: "This was not a robbery, this was staged.”
He claimed he would receive a £5,000 payment for bagging up stolen watches.
"I knew that I was going to take part in a staged robbery where everyone was consenting," Mr Kunu added.
He continued: "I knew that the person in the shop was going to comply. I knew that I was going to put watches in the bag and I had to do nothing else."
Mr Kunu argued "it would have been different" if Mr White had not consented."He would have pressed the panic button," he said.
Mr Kunu added: "We walked out of that place, we didn't run. There wasn't a car outside. We walked to where the car was... if this was a robbery the car would have been outside, we would have run out.
"This was, to my belief, an insurance scam. But I didn't know that."
Jurors previously heard that Mr White was put in a headlock and tied up using cable ties while the watches were stolen.
Mr Kunu this was all part of "the role play" to "make the whole thing look real".
"It was a staged robbery so I believed that it was consented," he said.
"If I actually believed that this was a robbery I would have never been there. If I actually believed that he (Mr White) was uncomfortable or he looked like he was genuinely really struggling, this would have been completely different."
Mr Kunu claimed he had received a call from a certain "Mr X" asking him to be involved in the "staged robbery".
The defendant refused to name the caller over concerns for his safety and the safety of his family.
He told jurors he was chosen to because he had told Mr X he was financially struggling, so he knew he needed money and that he was “naive”.
Mr Kunu accepted he was part of a "conspiracy to steal” and later admitted he knew the incident was "always going to involve violence or the threat of violence potentially".
The defendant denied making up his explanations.
Woolwich Crown Court previously heard that Mr White tried to transfer £14,000 of his own savings to his bosses after the robbery.
The court also heard 247 Kettles had CCTV, panic buttons and magnetic locking doors for security measures as well as a smoke system, and mainly sold "high-end" Rolex models ranging from £3,000 to £70,000.
The prosecution alleges the defendants played different roles in the plot, with Kunu having entered the premises to carry out the robbery, while Pedro, who did not attend the shop on May 25, was "closely involved in the planning and execution"
