Third man guilty of robbery of Mark Cavendish

A third man has been found guilty of robbing elite cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife Peta of watches worth £700,000 in a knifepoint raid at their home in Essex.

A balaclava-clad gang, armed with large knives, threatened the couple at their house in the Ongar area in 2021.

Two men have already been jailed for their role in the robbery.

Jo Jobson, 27, has been found guilty of two counts of robbery by a jury and is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

He handed himself in at a police station in June, 18 months after officers first issued a photo appeal identifying him as a suspect.

Edward Renvoize, prosecuting at Chelmsford Crown Court, said the gang threatened the couple and “meted out violence to Mark Cavendish” during the raid, which happened at around 02:30 BST while the couple’s children were at home on 27 November.

He read a statement from Mrs Cavendish in which she said an intruder told her husband “Do you want me to stab you up in front of your kid?’.

‘Well orchestrated’

The man then swore, demanding to be shown the safe, and two Richard Mille watches were taken.

The prosecutor described the robbery as a “well-orchestrated and executed, planned invasion of a home of well-known individuals with the intention of grabbing high-value timepieces”.

He said one of the intruders took Mrs Cavendish’s mobile phone and it was later found outside their property, which he said was a “significant error in what was an otherwise carefully executed plan”.

A trail of DNA evidence and phone numbers led police to a mobile “attributed to” Jobson, the court heard last week.

Jobson, of no fixed address, appeared to shake his head as the unanimous guilty verdicts were returned.

He said “thank you” before he was led from the dock to the cells.

The two other men already jailed for two counts of robbery are:

Romario Henry, 31, of Bell Green, Lewisham, south-east London, sentenced to 15 years
Ali Sesay, 28, of Holding Street, Rainham, Kent, jailed for 12 years

Mr Cavendish, originally from the Isle of Man, is the all-time joint record holder for Tour de France stage wins, and he hopes to pass the 34 also won by Belgian legend Eddy Merckx in next year’s event.

His best Olympic placing was winning silver in the omnium in the velodrome at Rio 2016 and he was the BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner in 2011.