Disgraced son snatches £7k watch

A frail pensioner watched in horror as his son ripped a £7,000 Cartier watch from his partner’s wrist after demanding their jewellery.

Stephen Mullan, 48, had disgraced father Bernard for years, taking drugs, refusing to get a job and building up dozens of convictions.

On April 3 he burst into his father’s home in Westminster demanding cash.

‘This did not come as a surprise as he had been texting him earlier,’ said Henriette Kaerger, prosecuting.

He was in the company of a woman assumed to be his girlfriend but that party was never identified.’

‘They sat together in the living room kitchen.

‘The defendant had sent his father a text message indicating that he was in some trouble but did not expand.

‘When they were both alone in the living room area the defendant stated that he wanted his father’s watch.’

‘He said he was in a lot of trouble.

‘His father noticed that his body language changed, and they both stood up. The defendant clenched his fist against his father’s chest.

‘The defendant said that he was taking it, and that he needed it as he was in a lot of bother.’

‘His father asked him to calm down and to leave, to which the defendant responded that he would not leave without the watch.

‘His father asked if he would ransack the house, and he said he would go there if he had to.

Bernard then called his partner Leslie Watson, and told her to call the police.

But Mullan followed her as she went upstairs.

‘He yanked at the gold Cartier watch. It came off her wrist,’ the prosecutor said.

‘At that point, Bernard Mullan ran out into the street and began shouting for help.

Mullan ran off but was arrested later that night.

Later, Stephan’s sister messaged him on Facebook challenging him about the incident.

He replied: ‘I admit I do bad things and I take the consequences.’

‘That is effectively and admission of guilt, possibly reflected in the guilty plea’, said Ms Kaerger.

A 999 call recording was played to the court.

In it, Ms Watson said: ‘Someone’s stolen my watch, he attacked me.’

‘My partner’s son, he’s done time, he seemed okay when he came in, then he turned funny.’

‘I’m shaking so much.’

She explained that her partner had been in hospital suffering from seizures.

‘I’m still in shock. My partner is shaking, my partner is shaking, he’s not long out of hospital,’ she explained.

The court heard that Mullan has 36 convictions for 79 offences, including robbery.

In 2018, he even took a camera from a bailiff who had come to his house and shut the door.

Liam Loughlin, defending, made the point that no weapon had been used during the robbery.

‘No weapon was involved, no weapon was used in any way.’

‘The level of violence used was, in my submission, minimal.’

Mr Loughlin also argued that Mullan did not abuse trust in any way, because Mr Mullan and Ms Watson never trusted him in the first place.

‘This was not a case where he ingratiated himself with the family, trust was placed in him, and he abused that trust. He was not trusted by them at all.’

Mullan, of Kingston-Upon-Thames, was due to stand trial but he pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of theft.

He remains in custody ahead of sentence later today.