A villain who forced his way into the home of former England defender Ashley Cole and threatened to cut his fingers has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Kurtis Dilks, 35, was jailed today at Nottingham Crown Court, on an extended five-year license.
Cole previously said the “terror and confusion” on his children’s faces when the gang of men broke into his home in January 2020, tied him up and then issued their horrifying threat “will never leave me.”
Judge James Sampson praised the “courage and resilience” of Cole and his partner Sharon Canu, as well as all the other victims of the gang.
He called Dilks “horribly ruthless” and told him, “The psychological impact on Mr Cole and Mrs Canu, as with all your victims, cannot be overstated.”
The judge told Nottingham Crown Court that the attack on the footballer’s home was “extremely terrifying” and described the gang as “intelligent, violent and chillingly ruthless men”.
Dilks was convicted last week along with five others for their role in a series of what prosecutors said were “ruthlessly carried out” robberies and burglaries between October 2018 and January 2020.
Before the attack on Cole and his family, Dilks was part of a gang that stole the famed £3.5 million Portland tiara from the Harley Gallery on the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire.
A villain who broke into Ashley Cole’s home and threatened to cut his fingers has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Kurtis Dilks, 35, was jailed today in Nottingham Crown Court, with an extended five-year license
The ex-Arsenal and Chelsea defender was at home with his partner Sharon Canu (pictured together)
In a statement read by a prosecutor earlier on Friday, Cole said: “The image of that night stays and affects everything.
“The fear and confusion on my children’s faces is something that will never leave me.
“These images and thoughts will never, ever disappear from my head and can pop up at any moment.”
He described how he has invested heavily in the security of his home in Fetcham, Surrey, to the point that it “feels like a fortress,” but said he still can’t go to the bin without a flashlight and his watchdog.
Dilks was the only one of the gang responsible for the robbery that got caught
Cole’s partner Sharon Canu was in court on Friday to hear her statement read by prosecutor Michael Brady QC.
She described in her document how the robbery had a “huge impact” on her life, and recalled trying to hide in a wardrobe with her son while her husband was tied up and her daughter begged for comfort.
Mrs. Canu said, “That will never leave me.”
She said she still doesn’t feel safe despite the dogs, panic alarms and fences installed on their property.
Ms Canu said they had considered moving, but “the truth is that the feelings and the fear would be there wherever the house was.”
Dilks’ trial heard Cole tell police he thought “now I’m going to die” when he recalled how the masked robbers tied his hands behind his back despite him holding his young daughter.
Dilks was the only one of the gang responsible for the heist who was caught after his DNA was found on the zip ties used to stop Cole and Mrs. Canu.
Cole was not in court on Friday.
Former England footballer Cole previously said the ‘terror and confusion’ on his children’s faces as the gang of men broke into his house, tied him up and then issued their horrifying threat ‘will never leave me’. The former defender was pictured earlier this week training at Everton FC’s Finch Farm in Halewood, England.
In addition to the assault on Cole and the tiara robbery, Dilks was found guilty of conspiracy to rob the wife of former Tottenham, Hull and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019 with co-defendants Ashley Cumberpatch and Andrew MacDonald.
The three men were also convicted of participating in the theft of the Portland Tiara.
The 6th Duke of Portland commissioned Cartier to make the tiara for his wife Winifred, Duchess of Portland. She wore it at the coronation of King Edward VII.
Dilks, dressed in an orange and black patterned shirt and mask, sat with five other defendants in the glass dock, staring straight ahead as he listened to the declarations of impact.
Cumberpatch and MacDonald were also convicted along with jewelers Tevfik Guccik and Sercan Evsin, and co-defendant Christopher Yorke, for converting criminal property after the theft.
Prosecutor Michael Brady QC told jurors that the items stolen during the break-in had been passed to professional handlers Guccik and Evsin, who were tasked with selling them.
The court heard that the tiara and brooch are believed to have been taken from the country by Guccuk to his native Turkey after being dropped off in November 2018 at a “seemingly legitimate jewelry store”, Paris Jewels, in London’s Hatton Garden.
Guccuk, who had papers to confirm he was a trader, told jurors that his trip to Istanbul was for a rescheduled wedding and that he regularly travels to the city on business.
It is known that his flight was from London Heathrow Airport and that the 41-year-old would have taken the items in his hand luggage.
Speaking about how the items would have been discarded in his opening to the jury, Mr Brady said: ‘The people responsible for this part of what were highly sophisticated criminal offences, Evsin and Guccuk, had an apparently legitimate jewelry store in Hatton Garden.
‘The value and conspicuous nature of some of the stolen items were so great that it was not possible to sell them in the UK.
“The conclusion to be drawn from the evidence is that sometimes the property had to be sold abroad.”
Police raided the gang after detectives linked Go-Pro footage from the Harley Gallery, seized from Cumberpatch’s home in October 2017, to the theft. During the 10-week process, the Public Prosecution Service was able to prove that the images demonstrated a reconnaissance attempt by the 37-year-old ‘in plain sight’.