TikTok prankster Mizzy avoids jail for phone theft after court hears he is turning life around

Bacari-Bronze O'Garro,also known as Mizzy,outside leaves Highbury Corner magistrates' court on Thursday

Credit: Lucy North/PA

TikTok prankster Mizzy has been handed a community order after he stole a woman’s phone as he rode past her on an e-bike.

Mizzy,whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O’Garro,was riding a green Lime e-bike on June 15 2022 when he snatched the phone out of the woman’s hand.

Amy Gault,prosecuting,said police officers pursued the teenager,then 17,after they noticed he was cycling in a way that suggested he was “trying to get away from something” and he was eventually arrested.

O’Garro,who is known for his pranks on the social media platform,was found guilty of theft in April 2024.

On Thursday,district judge Michael Oliver ordered the teenager,now 19,to pay £500 in compensation to his victim alongside a 12-month community order at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court in north London.

Mr Oliver said the sentence would “serve to punish you and make reparation to the community at large”.

Cycling in erratic way

The court heard Ruby Hewitt was left “stressed,anxious and quite scared for my safety” after O’Garro,wearing a blue tracksuit with a blue-and-white scarf on his head,grabbed the iPhone 13 Pro Max,worth about £1,000,from her hand as she was texting on the device in Highbury New Park,Islington,north London.

Three Metropolitan Police officers in an unmarked police car later noticed O’Garro exhibiting “erratic behaviour,going in and out of the road and moving on to the pavement”.

O’Garro fled the officers,throwing the device over a fence into bushes before an officer forced him off the bike. He then ran away on foot before being arrested.

Keren Weekes,mitigating,said the teenager’s previous detention at a young offenders’ institution “had a detrimental effect on his mental health” and he was now “working to make a positive change in society”.

Undertaking two internships

O’Garro,who has a son,was now undertaking two internships – at a content creation business and a video news outlet – alongside a vocational qualification course in creative media,she added.

Ms Weekes said he was also co-leading the production of an anti-knife crime video.

The court heard O’Garro had three previous convictions at the time of the offence and had been sentenced for a separate theft in July 2022,receiving a youth rehabilitation order with a curfew.

Mr Oliver said the phone theft “really ought to have been dealt with at the same time”.

He said he had considered the fact O’Garro was under 18 when the offence took place.

He added: “You are still,now,only 19. You are still a young person.”

Mr Oliver said taking the phone could have had a “catastrophic impact” on the victim,including the loss of “precious photographs”.

He said: “It was plainly your intention that the victim would not get her phone back,it’s just good fortune that those consequences did not happen.”

O’Garro,of Hackney,east London,was ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity.