Thief with 'bizarre dance' jailed for more than two years after stealing £9,000 watch in Birmingham
The 'dodgy dancer' who used 'bizarre moves' to distract his victims whilst stealing expensive watches from their wrists has been jailed.
Abdelhadi Bahou-Jabour previously admitted two robberies and an attempted robbery at Birmingham Crown Court.
He has been jailed for a total of two years and three months.
West Midlands Police said when the 24-year-old failed to steal the man's watch, as it got caught on his cuff, he jogged away from Colmore Row.
He then stumbled across a woman in St Phillip's Cathedral grounds who was wearing a £4,700 Rolex watch which he stole despite her resisting him.
Police officer describes thief as 'part Bruce Forsyth, part Artful Dodger'
He was previously caught on camera as he approached a couple on Colmore Row in Birmingham in July.
He attempted to win their trust by striking up conversations and high-fiving them, before grinding up against the woman and flicking his leg around her. A watch, worth £9,000 was obtained.
PC Mat Evans from West Midlands Police described the moves as 'part Bruce Forsyth, part Artful Dodger'.
Bahou-Jabour then tried his signature move out on her partner.
His second attempt failed when the watch snagged against his victim's shirt cuff.
In search of an encore, he jogged to the grounds of St Phillips Cathedral, where he found another perfect dance partner ... another woman wearing a Rolex.
Stepping his game up, he approached her in song; singing 'It's coming home' before attempting to take her watch off her wrist, too. This time though, she realised what was going on and resisted.
At this point, Bahou-Jabour twisted the victim's arm before ripping the £4,700 watch from her and running away.
Thief used the 'Ronaldinho technique', police say
Birmingham City Centre officer, PC Mat Evans, retrieved a clear image of Abdelhadi and was able to identify him in New Street just two weeks later.
PC Evans added: "'The Ronaldinho technique', a pickpocket technique named after the dancing footballer, using excessive contact to misdirect your attention away from the sensation of having your pockets emptied, or in this case, your watch stolen."
The 24-year-old from Nottingham was arrested and charged with two robberies and an attempted robbery.
Whilst searching his phone, the police found images of associates Abdul Boychaala and Hussen Ehab, also from Nottingham, who had been jailed last month for a similar performance.
They had been targeting students and using the leg-related dance moves to steal phones.