Algerian thief who grabbed actor’s phone had threatened to chop off singer’s arm
An Algerian thief who stole a phone from Bridgerton star Genevieve Chenneour in a coffee shop had threatened to chop off singer Aled Jones’s arm unless he handed over his £17,000 Rolex.
Zacariah Boulares, who has been convicted of 28 offences, was 16 when he attacked the Songs of Praise presenter as he walked with his son in Chiswick, west London, on July 7, 2023.
The machete wielding teenager was captured on CCTV as he fled the scene with the Welsh baritone’s Rolex Daytona.
Boulares could not be named when he admitted robbery and possession of a bladed weapon at Ealing Youth Court.
He also admitted robbing a 78-year-old man of a gold Rolex worth £20,000 at Paddington station on 15 May 2023.
Boulares was handed a two year training and detention order in October 2023.
Last week Boulares, now 18, admitted stealing Ms Chenneour’s mobile phone at Joe & The Juice in Kensington on 8 February this year.
Boulares then kicked and punched another customer who tried to help Ms Chenneour, 27, stop him escaping.
The Yorkshire-born actress, 27, was left with concussion following the incident and even her dog was ‘traumatised’.
Boulares also admitted common assault against the Joe and the Juice customer Carlo Kurcishi when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
He also admitted stealing a black leather handbag worth £80 from a diner at Pizza Pilgrims restaurant in London’s West End on 30 January.
He has 12 previous convictions for a total of 28 offences – all relating to theft.
Boulares, of Hounslow, west London, admitted two counts of theft including theft by finding and common assault.
He has been remanded in custody ahead of sentence at Isleworth Crown Court on 17 June.
Sentencing Boulares in 2023 Magistrate Rex Da Rocha had told him: ‘The kind of knife you had on you, pointing that machete at an innocent person who had their child with them, in their face.
‘I think that is totally unacceptable.’
Mr Da Rocha then said a two year training and detention order was ‘the maximum this court is able to administer.’
Ms Chenneour played Clara Livingston in the third season of the Netflix period drama.
She is also a former professional athlete who represented Team GB at the Baku 2015 European Games in Artistic swimming events.
Mr Jones, from Bangor, North Wales became a star at 14 when his version of Walking in the Air, from Christmas classic The Snowman, reached No5 in 1985.
He was made an MBE in 2013 for services to music and broadcasting and charitable services and is now a regular presenter of Songs of Praise and hosts a morning radio show on Classic FM.
His daughter Emilia is a rising star in her own right appearing in the acclaimed film CODA and Netflix series Locke & Key.
