Overview

• Zacariah Boulares, 18, was jailed for 22 months at Isleworth Crown Court after pleading guilty to multiple thefts and an assault, including snatching Genevieve Chenneour’s phone in a Kensington café on February 8.
• CCTV footage captured Boulares grabbing the actress’s iPhone 14 Pro behind the counter, prompting Chenneour and her partner to tackle him and recover the device during the daylight robbery.
• In her victim impact statement Chenneour described ongoing anxiety, recurring nightmares and a decision to move out of London for the first time since she was 15.
• Judge Martin Edmunds KC condemned Boulares’s “systematic pattern” of targeting affluent diners for “rich pickings” and highlighted his willingness to use violence when challenged.
• Police recorded over 70,000 phone-snatching incidents across London in 2024, driving calls for tougher sentences and targeted interventions to curb repeat violent thefts.