A CCTV video captured a brave moment when a Bridgerton actress stood up to a teenager who stole her phone at a popular café. The still images from the footage show her confronting the thief inside Joe & The Juice in Kensington, west London.
Genevieve Chenneour, 27, was seen fighting back in front of shocked customers after the thief, 18-year-old Zacariah Boulares, took her phone. The video shows her reacting quickly to the theft.
Boulares has admitted to robbing her and carrying a dangerous weapon. He will be sentenced next month for this crime.
Chenneour, who is originally from Northallerton in North Yorkshire, said she refused to be an easy target. “They didn’t expect me to fight back, but I did,” she said. She also thanked the café staff for their support during and after the incident.
It was later revealed that Boulares has a criminal past. At just 16, he threatened singer Aled Jones during a robbery involving a Rolex watch in Chiswick. He was sentenced to two years in a youth detention center but was released after 14 months.
CCTV from Joe & The Juice shows Boulares, wearing a hood, sneaking behind the actress. She was walking her dog and spending time with a friend at the café when the theft happened.
He not only grabbed Chenneour’s phone but also attacked another customer, Carlo Kurcishi, during the incident.
However, the actress didn’t freeze. She quickly acted, blocking Boulares from escaping and knocked the phone out of his hand with her friend’s help.
Chenneour picked up her iPhone and hit the thief with it, knocking him down to the floor. The situation turned into a struggle that lasted around four minutes. In the end, Boulares left without the phone.
Police were called to the café on February 8 after reports of a theft and an assault. Officers later arrested Boulares.
He went to court on May 29 and admitted stealing the phone, attacking Mr. Kurcishi, and stealing a handbag from a pizza restaurant on January 30.
Boulares, who is from Algeria, was kept in custody and will be sentenced on July 17 at Isleworth Crown Court.
A source said Genevieve showed true courage during the event and called it a shocking example of the growing crime problem in London.
