This is the moment a teenage moped mugger unmasked himself during a two-hour acid attack spree which has left him facing more than 12 years in jail.
Derryck John, who was caught on CCTV at a petrol station in Hackney, East London, was just 16 when he threw acid at riders to steal their motorcycles and scooters.
The attacks against six drivers across North and East London happened in just over an hour on July 13, causing one of his victims ‘life-changing’ injuries.
Moped mugger Derryck John was caught on CCTV at a petrol station in Hackney, East London
John (pictured left and right) is yet to be sentenced over the spate of moped acid attacks
John, now 17, of Croydon, South London, admitted six counts of throwing a corrosive liquid with intent to ‘disable, burn, maim, disfigure or cause grievous bodily harm’, two counts of robbery and four counts of attempted robbery.
Judge Noel Lucas QC adjourned sentence but said: ‘The starting point for one of these offences is 12 years, but when I am dealing with six offences involving acid coupled with robberies it has to be more.’
John’s mother and brother held their heads in their hands as they sat in the public gallery.
Father-of-one Jabed Hussain, 32, was the first person to be targeted at the Hackney Road junction with Queensbridge Road at about 10.30pm.
Social media footage from the scene of one of the attacks shows people trying to help one victim by dousing him with water
He screamed for help as the flesh-burning liquid singed his skin, while the suspects made off with his moped.
Footage shows him being doused with water by police to wash the acid out of his eyes. The acid used ranged from PH levels one and two – the strongest available.
The second attack was just 20 minutes later when another victim was sprayed with acid on the Upper Street junction with Highbury Corner in Islington.
At about 11.05pm a third attack took place on Shoreditch High Street, followed by another within fifteen minutes on Cazenove Road, leaving the man with ‘life-changing’ injuries.
The scene on St Paul’s Road in Islington, North London (left), after an attack by John (right)
John (left) is pictured at the petrol station in Hackney, East London, on July 13 at 11.25pm
Another victim was targeted as he sat in traffic on Chatsworth Road at about 11.30pm, with the attackers fleeing the scene on the man’s moped.
Speaking at an earlier hearing prosecutor Saira Nisar said: ‘These are a series of serious attacks moped and motorcycle riders that took place on July 13 over a very short period of time – approximately two hours.
‘The modus operandi over all of the offences is identical – the attacker strikes when the moped rider is at a red light.
The scene of one of the attacks at the Hackney Road junction with Queensbridge Road in East London shows a police cordon and food delivery drivers who rushed to the aid of a victim
Jabed Hussain, 32, said he was on his way home in East London when the moped rider pulled up next to him at the traffic lights and doused him with acid
‘The corrosive liquid is then sprayed directly over the face of the rider.
‘As the rider is struggling with the pain and disorientation of being sprayed with this noxious substance, the riders who have done this steal or attempt to steal the vehicle.’
The teenager admitted six counts of throwing a corrosive liquid with intent, two counts of robbery and four counts of attempted robbery.
A third count of robbery will be taken into account when he is sentenced on Monday.