Suspect charged after cyclist repeatedly punched and put in chokehold during violent bikejacking

A man has been charged after a cyclist was robbed of their £2,000 bike in Cardiff city centre, the victim punched a dozen times and placed in a chokehold. The victim had slammed the police for arriving 40 minutes after the crime was reported despite the police station being five minutes away on foot, while also claiming that no bystanders came to his aid despite crying out for help.

In a statement, a South Wales Police spokesperson has since confirmed that a man has now been charged. They said: "Officers investigating a robbery which happened in Bute Park on Monday, July 1, have arrested and charged a man. Bailey Hanlon, 20, from Swansea, was arrested on Sunday, July 7, and charged with robbery, theft of a motor vehicle and other traffic offences. He has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear before Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, August 5. Investigations continue."

Damian Slowik, a 31-year-old Polish international who’s lived in Cardiff for 12 years, was riding his lime green Transition Scout mountain bike which he had just got repaired, in Bute Park near Cardiff Castle on Monday around 4pm when a man brutally attacked him while a woman made off with his bike.

Slowik said that a man and a woman, both in their 20s and dressed all in black, approached him while he was seated and asked him: “Why are you looking at my girl?”

The man then clenched his fists and stepped forward, when Slowik moved back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman grab his bike which was leaning on the bench. He tried seizing hold of the bike from the woman, but they both fell to the ground.

Slowik was then “sucker-punched” by the man in the back of his head, causing him to black out for a few seconds. When he regained consciousness, he found that the man was still standing over him and punching him, even breaking his glasses.

The woman proceeded to ride away with the bike, but Slowik kicked at the man’s legs making him fall over as well. “I was trying to stop his hands connecting to my face,” he said. “I was scared he could have a knife. At one point he put me in a chokehold which I got out of. He was kicking me, kneeing me, trying to elbow me.

“I was screaming my lungs out for help. Apart from one man who called the authorities, no one did anything. People were just cycling past and jogging past.”

He said that he had always felt safe in Bute Park but now will “never go there again”, adding: “I am shocked that this could happen in bright daylight in the centre of the capital city.”

> Knife-wielding moped muggers assault cyclist in latest “very targeted” attack at bikejacking hotspot

Slowik said he managed to restrain his attacker for around 15 minutes but he claimed it took police 40 minutes to get to the scene after a witness called 999, despite Cardiff Central police station being minutes away on foot, reports WalesOnline.

“The Cardiff Central police station is five minutes away so I think it was unacceptable it took 40 minutes for police to arrive,” said Slowik, who had been aware of the 2021 murder of Dr Gary Jenkins in Bute Park but still considered it a safe place.

“I always thought any incidents would be after dark, not in daylight on a summer day. In the 12 years I've lived in Cardiff I have always cycled in Bute Park. It’s one of my favourite spots but I will never go there again. I really got scared. I can’t sleep, I lie down for two hours and all I see is what happened. I feel gutted when I think about it.”

Slowik also wrote on Facebook yesterday: “Cardiff Uber delivery is faster than South Wales Police responding to robbery. Any thieves reading my post, wear balaclava and gloves, don’t fight your victim stab them instead. Guaranteed to walk free without punishment…”

A South Wales Policespokeswoman said: "Being a victim of robbery is a frightening experience, and this incident, which was reported at around 4.15pm on July 1, is being fully investigated. As a result of enquiries, two suspects have been identified and efforts are being made to arrest them."

The rise of bikejackings in the UK has become an ever-worrying concern for many cyclists. In April, Regents Park in London, which over the last couple of years has seen many such incidents, was site to yet another violent bikejacking when a 6ft 7in cyclist was pushed into a fence and held down with a knife by four muggers on mopeds during an early morning training ride.

The cyclist, a member of the southwest London-based Onyx RT racing team – was riding in Regent’s Park, a popular training ground due to its quiet, sometimes traffic-free roads, had his bike and cycling computer stolen by the four men who threatened him with a knife.

> British Cycling, Rapha and Brompton join call for more police action for cyclists being “systematically targeted by criminals” in violent bikejackings

After the incident, he said: “Two mopeds, two men on each coming towards me at Outer Circle, Regent’s Park. I jumped up the kerb and onto the sidewalk and sprinted. Thought the kerb may protect me from them coming after me.

“They turned around and shouted at me to stop, then pushed me into the fence – I hit the fence. While they were getting off their mopeds I threw my phone into the dark grass. I tried to do the same with my Wahoo, but they grabbed it. Held me down with a knife while frisking me.”

Sean Epstein, the chair of the Regent’s Park Cyclists group, said the attack is the latest in a series of “very targeted” and “professional” attacks on cyclists riding high-end bikes in the area, which he says have increased significantly since September and put many people, especially women, off riding their bikes.

This latest bikejacking took place just months after the Regent’s Park Cyclists group, supported by British Cycling, Rapha, and Brompton, called on the Metropolitan Police to station more officers at the London crime hotspot in a bid to stem the seemingly constant flow of bikejackings in the area.