Brothers of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold and Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford robbed at gunpoint

Three men have been found guilty of taking part in an armed robbery of the brothers of two Premier League footballers and other cafe customers.

The siblings of Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold were targeted in a terrifying raid in Little Rock Café on Princess Street in Moss Side, Manchester. Three masked men burst into the cafe one Saturday morning in January 2019 and hit customers with a baseball bat so hard it broke. They then threatened them with a machete and a sawn off shotgun whilst demanding their watches.

Five customers, including the brothers of Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold, were forced to hand over their watches, and one of them, who was not wearing a watch, was forced to hand over his wallet and the keys for his Range Rover worth £70,000.

The men fled the scene at speed in the stolen Range Rover and a white BMW. They drove in convoy to an address in Fallowfield where Talleko Lemonious, Tariq Dervan and Romario Harmer were arrested an hour later. At the house, police found items stolen in the robbery, including the watches and wallets, along with ski masks with three men’s DNA on. A sawn off shot gun was found hidden in a nearby bush which had Harmer’s DNA on. A machete and baseball bat handle were found in the BMW, plus Dervan’s DNA was found on the BMW and on a pair of sunglasses in the door.

Following a trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Talleko Lemonious, 28 from Wythenshawe, Tariq Dervan, 22 from Staffordshire, and Romario Harmer, 21 from Old Trafford, have been found guilty of carrying out the armed robbery, plus possession of a machete, firearm and offensive weapon (he baseball bat).

Carl Miles for the CPS said: “Talleko Lemonious, Tariq Dervan and Romario Harmer carried out a terrifying armed robbery at a café in broad day light. In their greed, they showed utter disregard for the impact on their targeted victims and other customers and staff in the cafe, who genuinely feared for their lives, and were not afraid to use violence to get what they wanted.

“We worked closely with the police to build a strong case against them, including DNA and CCTV evidence, which we presented to the jury. After careful consideration of this evidence the jury found all three men guilty of all the offences they faced.

“I would like to thank the victims for their help in bringing these violent men to justice in order to protect the public from further harm at his hands. I hope that the conclusion of the trial helps them move forward with their lives.”