A 21-year-old man who filmed himself brutally kicking cyclists off their bikes in attacks across south London, including incidents in Southfields and Tooting, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Davontay Higgins admitted to attacking two separate cyclists in what a judge described as deliberate assaults on “vulnerable road users,” with at least one of the shocking incidents posted on social media where it went viral.
Attacks across South London
The two attacks took place on 27 August and 21 October last year, with one occurring in Longfield Street, Southfields, and another in Summerstown, Tooting. In both cases, Higgins used his moped as a weapon, approaching cyclists from behind while wearing a balaclava to conceal his identity.
In the Tooting incident, helmet-cam footage captured Higgins following a 57-year-old cyclist for 10 to 15 minutes after the rider had remonstrated with him for riding on the wrong side of the road. The cyclist even apologized and rode on the pavement in an attempt to get away, but Higgins stopped to cover his number plate before launching his attack, sending the victim crashing into a parked car.
The second victim, cycling home at night in Southfields, was sent flying over his handlebars at approximately 15mph into the rear windscreen of a parked car. This attack was filmed by Higgins, who posted the footage on Snapchat.
Serious injuries and long recovery
Both victims suffered significant injuries requiring medical treatment. The first cyclist sustained bruises, bleeding, and grazes that took months to heal and required ambulance treatment. The second victim suffered ongoing head, shoulder ligament, and back injuries, requiring hospital treatment and experiencing lasting trauma from the attack.
At Kingston Crown Court, Judge Georgia Kent condemned Higgins’ actions, telling him: “You deliberately used your moped and foot combined together as weapons to kick them off their bikes into the road.”
The judge was particularly critical of the filmed attack, saying Higgins caused “gratuitous degradation” of his victim by recording the assault with the “deliberate intention” of posting it online “to gain attention for the serious offending.”
Initial CPS decision overturned
The case nearly didn’t reach court after the Crown Prosecution Service initially decided not to prosecute due to an apparent lack of evidence, despite the existence of two videos and the recovery of two mopeds near Higgins’ home. The first victim successfully appealed this decision through the victims’ right to review procedure, later receiving a written apology from the CPS prosecutor for South London.
Defense barrister Tim Banks described Higgins as having “mental health issues” including ADHD, and detailed a difficult upbringing with no father present and a mother who was paralyzed in a road crash when he was 12. Higgins had recently begun working as a cleaner and waiter in his mother’s Caribbean restaurant.
The court heard that a friend of Higgins had been killed in a shooting seven weeks before the first attack, and that he had struggled with cannabis use and had stopped taking ADHD medication due to side effects.
Higgins, who broke down in tears fearing imprisonment, was also disqualified from driving for two years and nine months. He will serve up to half of his 18-month sentence in prison, with the remainder under licence.
The first victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said afterward: “In the end, justice has been done.”
