Masked thugs assault elderly women, 88 and 93, in Edinburgh car-jacking
Pair plead guilty to assault and robbery
A gang of masked thugs - including a convicted rapist - assaulted two elderly women in a car-jacking - but were caught out when one of the victims activated a tracking device on her phone.
Ahmad Siddique and Lewis Reddington forced Agnes Watson, 88. and her 93-year-old pal Margaret Gray from the motor before robbing them of the vehicle in an Edinburgh street in August 2024.
Siddique and Reddington, both 21, then made off in the stolen car but were snared when one of the victims used the Find My iPhone tracking app on her mobile phone.
Police quickly located the vehicle on the outskirts of the Capital and the two robbers were later identified and arrested after their DNA was found inside the vehicle.
Siddique and Reddington, both from Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of assault and robbery when they appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday July 7.
Co-accused Connor Paterson, 21, had previously admitted to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
The court was told Siddique was jailed for six years last month after being found guilty of raping a student at a flat in the Capital in 2023.
Prosecutor James O’Reilly told the court Agnes Watson stopped her car to drop off her friend near to her home at the Inch area of the city at around 9.50pm on August 27, 2024.
Mr O’Reilly said: “As the vehicle pulled up, a group of men dressed in dark clothing and with face coverings approached the vehicle and opened the car doors.
“They opened both front doors and demanded the ladies get out stating ‘we want your car, get out’.
“Mrs Gray got out of the car and one of the accused entered the passenger seat and pushed Mrs Watson out of the car.”
The court was told a second man jumped into the driver’s seat and the pair sped off in the direction of the city’s Robert Burns Drive.
The police were contacted and officers took statements from the two victims.
The fiscal said: “They were able to use the witness Watson’s iPhone which had been in the back seat of the car and they traced it at the Harlaw reservoir car park at 11.10pm.”
Mr O’Reilly said Siddique and Reddington’s DNA was subsequently found within the vehicle.
Police raided Reddington’s flat, which he shares with co-accused Connor Paterson, in the city’s Clovenstone area and discovered evidence of drug dealing within the property.
The court heard 500 grammes of cannabis with a street value of £4900 was found along with £725 in cash and paraphernalia including bags, scales and a number of mobile phones.
Paterson pled guilty to supplying cannabis while Reddington had a not guilty plea to the drug dealing offence accepted by the Crown.
Solicitor Philip Templeton, for Siddique, told the court his client had been sentenced to six years imprisonment under Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 on June 5 this year.
Siddique will also be supervised for a further three years after he was found guilty of the serious sexual assault on a teenager following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in March this year.
He was placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period and banned from contacting the victim for life.
Stephen Mannifield, representing Reddington, said his client was a first offender and had written “a really heartfelt letter of apology” to the two elderly victims of the robbery.
Sheriff Gillian Sharp said due to “the nature of the charges” she was calling for reports to be prepared and sentence on all three was deferred to next month.
Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this article, an image of Connor Paterson was used alongside one of Lewis Reddington with the headline ‘Masked thugs assault elderly women, 88 and 93, in Edinburgh car-jacking’. We would like to clarify that Mr Paterson was not charged with or convicted of assault or robbery. He admitted to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis only.