A Rolex thug, who threatened to behead Welsh chorister Aled Jones with a machete and later went on to attack a Bridgerton star, was released from youth detention early.
Zacariah Boulares served only 14 months out of his original 24-month detention after carrying out a terrifying attack against the Welsh chorister in Chiswick, west London in July 2023.
The Algerian national threatened the 54-year-old with a 20-inch blade, demanding the ‘f***king Rolex’ on the singer’s arm, while threatening to cut his limb off. Boulares could not be named at the time due to his age.
After the terrified baritone gave the menacing youth his £17,000 Dayton, Boulares later said he would ‘cut [Jones’s] head off’ if the Songs of Praise star continued to follow him.
The now 18-year-old appeared late to magistrates court late several times before he eventually pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon at Wimbledon Youth Court.
It was also heard the youngster had also stolen a £20,000 gold Rolex from a pensioner. His record was dubbed ‘appalling’ by Chairman of the bench Rex Da Roach.
A Detention and Training Order (DTO) can be handed to teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, where they serve half of their time in custody and are later supervised, by a Youth Offending Team.
However after only 14 months the Algerian national was freed, and later went on to commit a spate of crimes, including robbing Bridgerton actress, Genievieve Chenneour of her phone last February.
Zacariah Boulares, 18, (pictured) only served 14 out of his original 24 months in detention after launching a terrifying attack on singer Aled Jones
The Algerian national threatened to behead the Welsh baritone (pictured) if he continued to follow him after he stole his £17,000 watch
At the time, due to his age he could not be named, however he has since pleaded guilty to robbing Bridgerton star, Genievieve Chennour (pictured)
The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to stealing the phone when he appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court in May. Ms Chennour was left ‘concussed and traumatised’ by the ordeal.
He also pleaded guilty to common assault against Carlo Kurcishi, another customer in the same cafe, as well as a separate charge of theft after taking a black leather handbag at a pizza restaurant.
Magistrates were told he had 12 previous convictions for 28 offences, all relating to theft.
The defendant has now been remanded into custody with sentencing scheduled for June 17 at Isleworth Crown Court in west London.
The actress, who appeared in season three of the Netflix hit show as rumour-monger Clara Livingston, told the Mail on Sunday this month: ‘They didn’t expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.’
Chenneour has previously spoken of the terrifying moment she fought off the teenage thug who set upon her while she was walking her dog.
The actress, who appeared in season three of the Netflix hit show as rumour-monger Clara Livingston, told the Mail on Sunday this month: ‘They didn’t expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.’
The robbery happened when Yorkshire-born Genevieve had stopped at a branch of Joe & The Juice in west London last February.
In 2023, Boulares threatened the 54-year-old with a 20-inch blade, demanding the ‘f***king Rolex’ on the singer’s arm, while threatening to cut his limb off
Genevieve Chenneour, pictured here at the premiere of Netflix’s The Gentlemen at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane in March last year, had her phone stolen in February this year
She said: ‘I was left with a concussion just before the Screen Actors Guild Awards and since then, I’ve felt constantly on edge.
‘Even my dog was traumatised – now, if anyone touches me, he panics and tries to protect me.
‘Getting a coffee shouldn’t be something you need your wits about you for.
‘I’m so grateful to the staff at Joe & The Juice – they were incredible during the incident and when I went back to see them after.’
More than 70,000 phones were snatched in London in 2024, out of an estimated 100,000 thefts across the UK.
A source was previously quoted as saying: ‘Genevieve showed real bravery throughout. It was a very shocking incident.
‘It shows what is happening on London’s streets on a daily basis.
‘This was just another young woman going about her daily business. She’s handled it brilliantly.’
Chenneour is a former athlete who joined Team GB’s artistic swimming team at the age of 15.
She was awarded an Olympic scholarship before the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but her sporting career was cut short by injury and she retrained as an actress.
After appearing as a stunt double in the underwater sequences of period feature Gateway To The West, she landed her breakthrough role in the Regency drama.
