Ludgate Hill phone snatcher caught with DNA from lost shoe

A phone snatcher has been convicted after DNA from a shoe he lost during a theft in the City of London linked him to the crime.

Spencer Duarte, 28, was tackled off his e-bike by members of the public after he stole a handset from a victim’s hand in Ludgate Hill on 7 August last year – losing a trainer in the struggle. He was captured on CCTV wearing one shoe after he managed to get away.

Police sent the trainer for DNA analysis and found the thief’s profile on the national database.

Duarte, of Saffron Walden, Essex, appeared at Inner London Crown on Monday where he admitted one count of theft. He is due to be sentenced in September.

Physical forensics manager Andrew Walker, of the City of London Police, said: “We were able to get sufficient levels of DNA from the shoe to obtain a single, major profile that was suitable for searching against the national DNA database.

This search generated a “hit” to a man whose profile had previously been uploaded, Mr Walker explained.

“The slipper fitted our Cinderella and we were able to bring him before the courts.”