Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith gang members are jailed
Two local teenagers have been given life sentences for the murder of 16-year-old schoolboy Kodjo Yenga.
17-year-old Tirrell Davis of Shepherd’s Bush and 14-year-old Brandon Richmond of Hammersmith have been told they will serve a minimum of 15 years.
Three other local boys have been convicted of manslaughter. 14-year-old Michael Williams of West Kensington, 15-year-old Jamel Bridgeman and 17-year-old Kurtis Yemoh, both of Shepherd’s Bush, were given 10-year custodial sentences.
Kodjo was stabbed in the heart in March 2007 after being chased down Hammersmith Grove by a gang armed with bats and knives and shouting “kill him, kill him”.
The teenager was left dying in his girlfriend’s arms while the gang, known as MDP — Murder Dem Pussies or Money Drugs Power – ran away laughing.
Passing sentence at the Old Bailey, judge Christopher Moss said gang culture was to blame for the killing.
“You were all part of gang culture which casts its dreadful influence over our cities and leads to the sort of tragedy we have seen here,” he said.
“The courts must send out a clear message that the violent taking of lives by youngsters such as yourselves must be punished severely,” he told the court.
In a statement read out in court, Kodjo's mother, Ladjua Lesele, said her son's killers were "cold-blooded children".
"I only have one thing to say to those who murdered Kodjo: as you spilled and touched his blood, no matter how many times you wash your hands, his blood will stay on them for as long as you live,” she said.
“I stand before you a broken mother whose prayers, dreams and hopes for the bright future of her beloved son were cruelly and needlessly crushed.”
Kodjo was one of 26 teenagers killed in London last year. Twelve have already been killed in the capital in 2008.
10 May 2008
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