Teenager locked up after robbing 14-year-old boy near Peterborough city centre

Two teenagers have been convicted of robbing a 14-year-old boy near Peterborough city centre.

Police received a 999 call at 8.48pm on 23 September last year from a member of the public reporting they were with a 14-year-old boy who had just been robbed at knifepoint in Eastfield Road, Eastfield.

CCTV footage from Monument Street showed Kristaps Daugelis, 19, cut in front of the boy and his friend, on an e-scooter to block their path while Phillip Kandrac, 18, and another man, blocked their path in the other direction.

The boys managed to run away however Daugelis and Kandrac chased after them before punching the victim several times to his torso and head, pulling him to the ground where they continued to punch and kick him.

The pair tried to steal the victim’s bicycle but gave up and made off with his mobile phone instead.

Daugelis was identified from CCTV images and arrested the following day at his home in Gladstone Street, Millfield.

In police interview, he claimed he couldn’t possibly have committed the robbery as he was at his girlfriend’s all night, however he couldn’t provide a full name or address for her, failing to substantiate his alibi.

Kandrac was also identified from CCTV images and arrested in the following days, replying “no comment” throughout his interview.

Kandrac, of Westmoreland Gardens, Eastgate, was charged with robbery which he admitted in court. On 1 November he appeared at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court where he was ordered to pay £100 in compensation to the victim and made subject of a nine-month Youth Referral Order – the first community sentence given to most first-time young offenders, requiring them to attend a youth offender panel made up of two members of the local community and an advisor from a youth offending team, where they will agree a contract of certain commitments.

Daugelis denied a charge of robbery but was found guilty following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court in March.

He appeared at the same court yesterday (Tuesday) where he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Detective Constable Lauren Easton, who investigated, said: “This was a completely unprovoked attack on an innocent child, minding his own business.

“This behaviour will absolutely not be tolerated and we will do all we can to gather the evidence needed to put offenders before the courts. I would like to thank the member of the public who helped the boy and called police.”