Tim Westwood's DJ equipment stolen from car in central London

Former BBC Radio One DJ Tim Westwood ’s mixing desk was stolen from the boot of his car when he accidentally left the vehicle unlocked overnight, a court has heard.

The 66-year-old DJ and presenter parked his car outside his central Londonhome at 6am on March 31 but forgot to lock the doors.

When he returned the car later in the day, Westwood discovered a Pioneer control desk worth £1659 had been swiped from the boot.

The culprit, 48-year-old heroin addict Emmanuel Johnson, had been caught on CCTV carried out the brazen theft in broad daylight.

Footage showed him walking past the car and noticing it was unlocked, pausing on the pavement for a few moments, and then pulling open the drivers’ side door.

Johnson, wearing a padded gilet and blue hoodie, is seen apparently rifling through the glove box before turning his attention to the boot.

He then walks away with a black case containing the the expensive DJ equipment.

“At 6am on March 31, the victim parked his car outside his home and forgot to lock it”, said prosecutor Mewesh Shah.

Ms Shah added: “The victim is someone who is a DJ, that’s his bread and butter, so this is something he relies on quite heavily.

“He said the loss of my equipment affected me financially as I had to replace it and it was not insured.”

Westwood was a DJ on Radio One and Radio 1Xtra for many years, but in April 2022 he was accused by a series of women of sexual misconduct.

Police are reportedly investigating the allegations, while Westwood has denied any wrongdoing.

Johnson, who has convictions for 91 previous offences including 51 thefts, was arrested on July 1 after trying to steal three pairs of ladies shoes worth £127 from fashion outlet Mango at One New Change in the City.

He was charged with that offence and the DJ equipment theft, and pleadedguilty at a hearing on Tuesday at Westminster magistrates court.

Ms Shah said Johnson was spotted by plain clothes officers within One New Change, and he was detained at the Mango entrance when he triggered the security alarm with the stolen shoes.

The court heard Johnson has already been recalled to prison as he was on licence at the time of the incident at Mango.

His lawyer, James Meredith, called the raid on Westwood’s car “entirely opportunistic”.

“He walked past the car, saw it was not locked, and stole from the car. By pure chance he noticed it was unlocked, he looked through the contents, and stole what he found.

“It was an opportunistic theft, not something that was pre-conceived.”

The court heard Johnson refused to be interviewed by police as he was suffering heroin withdrawal symptoms. Mr Meredith said he is currently not employed or on benefits, and “steals to live”.

London was revealed earlier this year to be the second worst area in the UK for car crime, behind the West Midlands.

Home Office data also reveals that just over one per cent of all reported car crimes in London were actually solved last year.

Magistrates dubbed Johnson a “career thief” as they sentenced him to ten weeks in prison. He was also ordered to pay £100 to Westwood in compensation.

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