Men jailed for breaking into Bristol home and threatening man for cryptocurrency

Posted on 16 October 2026, at 17:02 in In Court

Custody images of three men - on the left a black man with short black hair, in the middle a black man with — Terroll Paul, Mohamed Samagassi, and Pierre Madzou with medium length dreadlocks and a black beard, and on the right a black man with short black hair.

Three men have been jailed after a man’s home was broken into and he was threatened in a failed attempt to steal cryptocurrency from him.

Terroll Paul, 31, Mohamed Samagassi, 37, and Pierre Madzou, 30, forced their way into the victim’s Bristol home in the early hours of 15 May before assaulting him and demanding he hand over a large amount of the digital currency.

At Bristol Crown Court on Thursday 15 October, they received prison sentences of at least five years each, having been convicted of aggravated burglary.

During the incident the victim was hit over the head, causing a substantial injury that required hospital treatment.

The men were all arrested at the scene after the victim’s teenage sister was able to alert police.

Following an investigation, they were later charged with aggravated burglary. They each pleaded guilty to the offence at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court in August.

In a victim personal statement read out in court at Thursday’s sentencing hearing, he said the incident continued to affect him.

The victim said: “I am constantly so frightened, paranoid and completely petrified.

“This incident has had a significant impact on me and has turned me into a completely different person; I say and do things out of character. Before, I was bubbly, talkative and outgoing but now I would describe myself as tense and apprehensive.”

Paul, of Barking in London, was sentenced to six years in prison, Samagassi, of no fixed address, received a prison sentence of five years, and Madzou, of Barking in London, was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

PC Gemma Childs, the investigating officer, said: “This incident has had a devastating and long-lasting effect on the victim, who states that his life now looks completely different to what it did prior.

“The victim has fully co-operated with police throughout the investigation, and has demonstrated outstanding resilience and bravery.

“The victim’s younger sister has also shown extreme bravery, with her actions leading directly to the apprehension of the offenders and preventing her brother from further harm. This is something that no one should have to go through in their lives, especially not a child, and her quick thinking in this situation is nothing short of remarkable.”