Teenage gang leader jailed for threatening shopkeepers on Dollis Valley estate, Barnet (From Times Series)

Teenage gang leader jailed for threatening shopkeepers on Dollis Valley estate, Barnet

5:20pm Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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THE teenage ringleader of a gang which terrorised traders on the Dollis Valley Estate has been jailed.

Phillip Joy-Friel, 18, of Dollis Valley Drive was jailed for 18 weeks after admitting a string of offences at Hendon Magistrates Court.

From October he led a gang of youngsters on a boozed-up reign of terror through the estate, attacking a security guard at the Co-Op store in Mays Lane and being offensive to many other residents.

On February 22 Joy-Friel admitted several counts including assault and public order offences.

He was jailed for 18 weeks and handed a five-year ASBO which prevents him entering Bedford Avenue or being in a public place with alcohol.

Dee Rajhwani, who manages a shop in High Barnet lived close to the bully and said he suffered regular racist insults and threatening behaviour by him.

He told the Barnet and Potters Bar Times: “I live in Millbridge and he used to hang around The Ridge near my door.

“He would be there most of the time with his friends and he would glare at me and say racist things.

“He made me feel really scared. He knows where I live and where my family live. I would go the long way round to avoid them. It did really affect my life.”

In January Joy-Friel terrified Mr Rajhwani’s ten-year-old sister and 86-year-old grandmother by pelting them with snowballs in their street.

In June last year Mr Rajhwani, 34, said the teenager hurled racist abuse at him and his sister, 23, in the street while they were dressed in Indian traditional costume.

Mr Rajhwani said he was targeted because he reported him to the police and he would regularly follow him to and from work taunting him.

The judge also placed a restraining order on him preventing him from approaching Mr Rajhawani.

PC Andy Wigley was charged with investigating the gang of between six and ten youngsters and quickly discovered Joy-Friel was the ringleader of the group.

PC Wigley said: “This is a great success and shows that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable in society today and we will deal with people that choose to behave in this manner.

“Since Joy-Friel has been sentenced the number of calls to police from Bedford Avenue and the estate have dropped significantly"

However, shopkeepers near to the Co-Op in Mays Lane say they are sill plagued by abusive youngsters and shoplifters, some of whom are obviously drunk or on drugs.

James Rayani, 61, owner of Coopers of Barnet in Mays Lane said: “Really it’s scary when you get a gang of youths who come here.

“Many times we get racist abuse here as well and if you approach them they threaten you. But we have a lot of men here and they give in. If I was on my own I’d be in trouble.

“We’ve asked the council many times for a CCTV camera here, it would be a great deterrent.”