Man found guilty in court of robbing Queen’s student at knifepoint

In a bizarre event last October, a first year Queens student, who wishes to remain anonymous, found himself held at knife-point in a demand to give over his phone to a local busker.

After striking up a conversation with street guitarist, Adrian Naylor, in the early hours of 1st October 2015 along the Malone Road, the student took out his Motorola Moto G phone to use a guitar tuning app, in an attempt to get a better sound from the instrument. The student also tried on the leather jacket Naylor was wearing, and after ten minutes of chatting, attempted to go back on his way to his residence in Elms Village.

The incident happened on Malone Road

His friendliness was in vain however, as Naylor responded by brandishing a kitchen knife and demand he hand the phone over. In fear and shock, the student did so, after which Naylor proceeded to walk in the direction of the Botanic Inn. The student initially formed Queens staff, who contacted the police, and Naylor was apprehended in Wellington Park.

After a two-day trial held at Belfast Crown Court, Naylor was found guilty of the theft chargers on Wednesday 24th February. Naylor denied the theft but admitted to speaking with the student in the Lennoxvale area of the Malone Road that morning. He also denied having a knife, and although no knife was found on his person during the arrest, the missing mobile was found in a garden adjacent to his arrest.

In a weak defensive plea to the jury, he said he heard the phone ringing in his pocket prior to his arrest, panicked and threw it into said garden, but does not know how it got there and assumes it “slipped” into his pocket when the student was trying on his jacket.

The jury took less than an hour to decide upon their unanimously guilty verdict and Naylor was remanded back into custody. Judge Kerr ordered that pre-sentence reports be prepared ahead of sentencing on April 8.