Oval Four: Black men jailed in ’70s on word of corrupt detective could finally be cleared

Four black men jailed for theft and assaulting police on the word of a corrupt detective could finally be cleared as part of an investigation into the officer’s cases.

The men, Winston Trew, Sterling Christie, George Griffiths and Constantine “Omar” Boucher were known as the “Oval Four”.

They were arrested at Oval Underground station in south London in 1972 on suspicion of stealing handbags by a detective later jailed himself for theft.

Held overnight, the quartet were beaten and charged with attempting to steal, theft and assault of the police.

After a five-week trial, they were jailed for two years and although their terms were reduced to eight months on appeal, the conviction stood.

But the case, investigated by Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, has been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) after a conviction in another of his cases was successfully appealed last year.

Ridgewell’s modus operandi was to confront young black men at underground stations and accuse them of theft, and then fabricate incriminating remarks he claimed they had made.

If his “suspects” resisted, he would also accuse them of assaulting police officers.

His conduct led to a string of high-profile and controversial convictions, until eventually a judge threw out a case brought against two young Jesuits studying at Oxford University.

Judge Gwynn Morris said at the time: “I find it terrible that, here in London, people using public transport should be pounced upon by police officers without a word.”

He was eventually jailed for seven years for conspiring with a pair of criminals to steal mailbags.

Ridgewell, who died of a heart attack in prison in 1982 at the age of 37, was behind the false conviction of Stephen Simmons, who in 2013 sought help with having it overturned.

Told by a legal radio phone-in to Google his arresting officer, he was shocked to discover Ridgewell had been jailed for a similar offence just two years after his own conviction.

Following a referral by the CCRC, Mr Simmons, now a successful businessman, had his conviction quashed last year.

The cases of Mr Trew and Mr Christie have been referred by the CCRC to the Court of Appeal, although the other two defendants – Mr Boucher and Mr Griffiths – who are thought to have left the UK in the 1970s – could not be traced.

The CCRC refers very few cases and the fact that it has been referred is considered to be an indicator that it will be successful.

Mr Trew told the Guardian: “Ridgewell threw a hand grenade into my life and shattered it but I am not a person who gives up easily. Over the years I managed to rebuild my life and restore my confidence.

“When I got the report from the CCRC last week I felt that all my hard work had paid off.”

In a statement, the CCRC said it “considers there is a real possibility that the court will quash the conviction” because of the subsequent conviction of Ridgewell and Mr Simmons’ successful appeal.

It also cited the acquittals of three other London Underground cases investigated by Ridgewell – the Waterloo Four, the Stockwell Six and the Tottenham Court Road Two.

(c) Sky News 2019: Oval Four: Black men jailed in ’70s on word of corrupt detective could finally be cleared