Teens found guilty of killing man as he sat in car
Two teenage drug dealers have been found guilty of fatally attacking a man "in cold blood" while he was sitting in a car in east London.
Abdul Jalloh, 23, was stabbed in the neck in a car park on the Isle of Dogs on 5 August last year.
At the Old Bailey, Shamiah McKenzie, 18, was found guilty of murder while Codee Godfrey, 19, was convicted of the manslaughter having been acquitted of murder.
The court heard that after the attack, the pair changed their clothes and then mingled with the police officers who were searching for the killers.
McKenzie and Godfrey had been circling the area on their bicycles for more than an hour and were both armed, the trial heard.
They were disguised in dark clothing and their faces were covered by balaclavas, said prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC.
Within seconds of approaching Mr Jalloh, he was attacked.
"Abdul Jalloh did not stand a chance. He could offer no resistance. He was outnumbered, unarmed and vulnerable behind the wheel of his car," said Ms Carberry.
The defendants rapidly cycled away, throwing a knife and its sheath along with McKenzie's bicycle into the River Thames at Caledonia Wharf and made their way to Godfrey's home.
There, the pair packed their clothing - some of it bloodstained - into bags and changed into shorts and t-shirts, before disposing of the bags in nearby bushes.
"Such was their confidence in their changed appearance that they mingled along the Thames Path with police officers who were searching for Abdul's killers," said Ms Carberry.
The killers finally handed themselves into police three days later, the court heard.
The defendants were two young men who had "no qualms about settling a score with the blade of a knife", said Ms Carberry.
McKenzie and Godfrey were a drug-dealing team who used Godfrey's home on the Isle of Dogs as a base, the trial heard.
Inside the bags found discarded in bushes, police found £3,000 worth of cannabis bagged up and ready for sale and £2,000 in cash.
Also found in the bushes was McKenzie's phone which showed in the two-month period leading up to Mr Jalloh's death, 570 images of knives were saved on the phone, mostly taken during internet browsing. Four days before the killing, a photograph of a row of four Rambo knives and machetes in sheaths was on his phone.
A picture of a knife in a sheath with the text "someone's going to get battered today" was uploaded on to the phone two days before the killing.
Before the start of the trial, McKenzie pleaded guilty to possessing a knife and both defendants admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply.
Giving evidence in his defence, McKenzie admitted stabbing Mr Jalloh, but claimed he had been acting in self-defence. Godfrey did not give evidence.
The jury deliberated its verdicts for more than 44 hours.
Both men will be sentenced on 20 June.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
Isle of Dogs fatal stabbing sees two men charged
Man fatally stabbed in Tower Hamlets is named
HM Courts Service
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-Texas US Rep. Blake Farenthold, who left office amid harassment allegations, dies at 63
Former Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, who left Congress amid sexual harassment allegations, has died. He was 63. He died in a Corpus Christi hospital and suffered heart and liver problems in recent years, Steve Ray, his former longtime political consultant, said. Farenthold's wife, Debbie Farenthold, confirmed that he died Friday. Blake Farenthold was elected in 2010, upsetting long-serving Democratic U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz. Seven years later, Farenthold announced that he wouldn't seek reelection. In a video he posted on his campaign's Facebook page at the time, he denied a former aide's three-year-old accusations, which included that he'd subjected her to sexually suggestive comments and behavior and then fired her after she complained. He apologized for an office atmosphere he said included 'destructive gossip, offhand comments, off-color jokes and behavior that in general was less than professional.' He said in the video that if he stayed in Congress, he would have spent months trying to vindicate himself. 'We all make mistakes,' Ray said Saturday. 'He made some mistakes.' Ray described him as a 'techie' who was interested in the internet and technology before getting involved in politics. 'He did a tremendous job as congressman for this area,' Ray said, noting that Farenthold cared about fighting crime and promoting transparency. 'His heart was really always in the right place.' Before becoming a congressman, Farenthold was a sidekick for a conservative radio talk show host, Ray said. 'When he decided to run, nobody in the world thought he was going to win,' Ray said. When he left office, he started his own radio show until he died. In addition to his wife, Farenthold is survived by two adult daughters, Morgan Baucum and Amanda Lawrence, Ray said.
UPI
3 hours ago
- UPI
Minnesota suspect gave wife 'bailout plan,' according to affidavit
Vance Luther Boelter, the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, is pictured. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety/ Facebook June 21 (UPI) -- The Minnesota man facing federal and state charges in the shootings of two state legislators and their spouses one week ago gave his wife a "bailout plan" to be used, according to unsealed court documents. Vance Boelter, 57, is in federal custody in the deaths of one couple and injuries of two others in separate incidents on June 14. Jenny Boetler told the investigators they were "preppers," meaning they should "prepare for major or catastrophic events" by stockpiling materials, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent and obtained by WCCO-TV and KARE-TV. Boelter told his wife to go to her mother's home in southwestern Wisconsin, the investigator said. After the shootings were reported, law enforcement pulled over Boelter's wife and four children while leaving their home near Lake Mille Lacs. She said they were visiting friends northwest of the metro area. She consented to a search of their car where investigators found two handguns, passports and about $10,000 in cash, according to the affidavit. Her husband posted in a family group text "they needed to get out of the house and people with guns may be showing up." "Dad went to war last night ... I don't wanna say more because I don't wanna implicate anybody," one text from Boelter to members of his family read, according to a federal complaint. Boelter's wife apparently didn't know about her husband's alleged plans to attack the lawmakers, and she has not been charged with any crime. Initially, the family members were in custody for possible deportation but a judge had them released. At roughly 9 a.m., after the shootings, Boelter visited a bank in Robbinsdale and withdrew all $2,200, according to the affidavit. Another person drove Boelter from the bank. "Witness 1" also sold Boelter an electric bike and Buick sedan, which was found during the 43-hour manhunt. Investigators discovered empty rifle cases, gun-cleaning supplies and a bike in a rented storage unit, according to the warrant. Investigators discovered "voluminous writings" in Boelter's home and car, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said. The notebooks contained the names of more than 45 Minnesota state and federal public officials, "mostly or all Democrats," according to the complaint. Boelter faces six federal charges -- two counts each for murder, stalking and firearms offenses in district court in St. Paul. The Justice Department could make it a death sentence case. Minnesota doesn't have the death penalty. The state charges are two counts of murder in the second degree and attempted murder in the second degree in Hennepin County in Minneapolis. He is being held on $5 million should federal authorities relinquish custody. State Rep. Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband, Mark, died at their home. They live about 5 miles from a husband and wife who also were shot. Yvette Hoffman, who was shot eight times, was released from the hospital Thursday night while John, a state senator, suffered nine gunshot wounds and is in serious but stable condition.
American Military News
5 hours ago
- American Military News
Four arrested after knife attack on exiled Lao democracy activist in France
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. French police have arrested four suspects in connection with a knife attack on exiled Lao democracy activist Joseph Akaravong, including the man who stabbed and seriously wounded the activist before fleeing the scene, local media reported Wednesday. The main suspect – a man in his 30s who stabbed Akaravong three times in the throat and torso on Saturday – was arrested on Tuesday in Nîmes, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the city of Pau, Pau public prosecutor Rodolphe Jarry said in a statement on Wednesday. The suspects were not named. Akaravong was rushed to a hospital in Pau in critical condition after the attack. His condition has since stabilized, Jarry told French media. The public prosecutor's office in Pau has launched an investigation into what they are referring to as an 'attempted assassination.' Authorities did not confirm if the attack was politically motivated at this time, reported France's Le Monde. Human rights advocates say the attack fits a broader pattern of targeting activists abroad. Rights group Manushya Foundation described the attack as an example of 'transnational repression.' 'The attack on Joseph is part of a dangerous and escalating pattern, in which authoritarian regimes continue to monitor, pressure, and even harm activists across borders,' the foundation said in a statement. Akaravong, one of the most prominent critics of the communist government in Laos, fled the Southeast Asian nation in 2018 after criticizing the collapse of a saddle dam at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project in Attapeu province that killed dozens of villagers. He was granted political asylum in France in March 2022, the foundation said. According to the Manushya Foundation, Akaravong was attacked while he was meeting with another Lao woman activist who had recently traveled to France after completing a five-year prison sentence in Laos last September for her criticism of the government on Facebook. The foundation did not name the woman activist, but last September, Houayheuang Xayabouly was freed from prison in southern Laos. She was arrested in September 2019 after she criticized the government on Facebook for delaying a flood rescue effort. In recent years, other Lao activists have gone missing or faced violence both inside Laos and outside the country, typically in neighboring Thailand. The Pau public prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to RFA's request for comments.
