A robber who was a member of the four-person gang that broke into the home of former England footballer Ashley Cole and threatened to cut off his fingers has been found guilty.
Former Arsenal, Chelsea, and Derby defender Cole told police that when the masked assailants tied his hands behind his back in January 2020 while he was holding his young daughter, he thought, “Now I am going to die.”
Kurtis Dilks was the only member of the gang responsible for the robbery to be apprehended, according to evidence presented at Nottingham Crown Court. His DNA was found on the cable ties that were used to restrain Cole and his partner, Sharon Canu.
The 35-year-old courier claimed that because the cable ties and knife found at the scene in Fetcham, Surrey, had previously been taken from his van, his DNA was present on them.
Dilks and five other defendants were found guilty of participating in a series of “ruthlessly executed” robberies and break-ins that occurred between October 2018 and January 2020.
Along with the assault on Cole, Dilks and co-defendants Ashley Cumberpatch and Andrew MacDonald were also found guilty of plotting to rob the wife of former Tottenham, Hull, and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019.
