A hired spotter and getaway driver has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years for his role in a gangland shooting outside a restaurant in east London which left a girl of nine with a bullet lodged in her brain.
The girl was hit in the head by one of six bullets fired by a man on a passing motorbike as she sat with her family in the Evin Restaurant in Kingsland High Street, Hackney, on May 29 last year.
She was an innocent victim of a bloody rivalry between Turkish gangs of north London.
Three men at a nearby table were also injured.
Javon Riley, 33, from Tottenham, north London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of causing grievous harm with intent to the girl and attempting to murder Mustafa Kiziltan, 35, Kenan Aydogdu, 45, and Nasser Ali, 44.
Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said the gang rivalry had seen a number of “tit for tat” murders and attempted murders in London and overseas over the past 10 years.
The three men who were shot were said to be affiliated with the Hackney Turks organised crime gang, who had a rivalry with the Tottenham Turks, with whom Riley had links, jurors had heard.
The gunman is at large but prosecutors said Riley had played a “key role” before, during and after the shooting.
Riley carried out reconnaissance of the restaurant before the attack, scouted for potential targets and drove the gunman away in a stolen car, which was later burnt out.
The nine-year-old girl spent three months in hospital and will suffer with lifelong physical and cognitive problems as the bullet remains lodged in her brain.
The three male victims received gunshot wounds to the arm, leg and thigh.
Scotland Yard has offered up to £15,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person who fired the shots.
During a three-week trial, Riley was asked to identify the “third party” who had recruited him for around £40,000.
He refused, citing fear for his life and that of his family.
The defendant admitted conducting reconnaissance, spotting targets and picking up the gunman, but claimed he believed it was a “smash-and-grab” robbery.
He later admitted the person who used the gun had said to him: “Shots have been fired. I need to get out of here.”
The court heard Jamaica-born Riley had a string of convictions dating back to 2008 including for possession of cannabis and cocaine, driving offences and having an offensive weapon and a blade in his car.
He also admitted involvement in car theft, drug dealing and robberies, but said he had never been caught for those offences.
Police recordings revealed Riley’s links to the Tottenham Turks, including talks about Izzet Eren, who was shot in Moldova on July 10 last year in what was believed to be a revenge attack.
