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Three jailed for gang killing
THREE men have been jailed for their part in a brutal gang attack which led to the death of an urban music producer.
Initially accused of murder, the men had their case dramatically cut short at the Old Bailey when the prosecution accepted confessions to lesser charges of manslaughter.
One of the three, Pellum McCook, 21, of Halstead Court, Murray Grove, Islington, was cleared in 2005 of involvement in a knife murder in the same locality.
The court was told this week that the killing of 23-year-old Leon Daryl Johnson – he was ambushed by up to 10 armed men in Hoxton last year – was planned “for revenge and punishment”.
Passing sentence, Judge Ann Goddard QC said: “He had no chance to defend himself. His death has caused unspeakable grief to his family.”
Mr Johnson, who ran his own company, The Young Guns Crew, which specialised in Grime music, was tortured with knives before being fatally stabbed in the heart.
He lived in Leyton and was lured to his death by a phone call, which took him to Shoreditch. There had been a history of bad blood between him and members of a rival group from Islington.
After using baseball bats and knives, his assailants left him dying in Stanway Street. Despite the frantic efforts of surgeons at the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, he died within two hours on March 24 last year.
He suffered at least 26 stab wounds, many to his thighs and buttocks from “juking” – street slang for torture – after he had been targeted for “disrespect”.
Prosecutor Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, QC, told the court the violence was ordered by a gang member – he awaits trial for his alleged role – involved in a long-running dispute with Mr Johnson.
“Residents of an estate saw him attacked by youths. He was stabbed a large number of times and his body was dragged a short distance and abandoned in a walkway,” she added.
In the dock were McCook, Jermaine Weatherman, 21, of Bow, and an 18-year-old youth from Hoxton. The teenager cannot be identified at present. The judge jailed McCook for eight years. She sentenced Weatherman and the 18-year-old to nine years each.
Detectives had to painstakingly break through a “wall of silence” to identify the three attackers. Case officer Det Chief Inspector Stuart Wrattan said: “We were able to gain the trust of the local people and we thank them.”
The court was told McCook was “hailed a hero” by police and community workers in 2000 when he broke into a burning flat to rescue the occupant.
McCook was among a number of young men arrested over the murder in October, 2004, of refugee Essayas Kassahun, 21, who lived in Bath Street, Finsbury. McCook denied any part in the fatality and was freed. Two others were convicted of murder and given life sentences.
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