A man who murdered a teenage boy by thrusting a bottle into his neck at a taxi rank in a race attack has been jailed for life and told he will spend at least 22 years in prison.
Alex Peguero Sosa, 17, who was of mixed race, was killed by Lee Dent, 42, in Devon, in the early hours of a morning last July, Plymouth crown court heard.
The jury was told that the attack happened after a friend of Dent’s referred to Alex’s hair as being an afro and Dent later told a friend “the fucking nigger deserved it”.
Dent, who has a secondhand-tyre business, was among a group that had been socialising in the market town of Kingsbridge while Alex, a former Plymouth Argyle youth football player, had been in the area with some of his friends.
Jailing Dent, of East Portlemouth, south Devon, Mr Justice Nigel Teare said the killing was a racially aggravated murder.
Outside court, DI Ian Ringrose, of Devon and Cornwall police, said: “This was a rare and horrific attack on a popular young man who was a promising football player with a very bright future ahead of him.
“This was an act of pure violence that resulted in a tragic and completely unnecessary loss of life. The court has recognised the racial factors in this murder and has rightly sentenced Dent to a significant term of imprisonment. This case should serve as a reminder to any individual who may commit such treacherous acts that we will not tolerate prejudice or hostility.”
Simon Laws, prosecuting, had told the jury that Alex and Dent had been squaring up to each other when Dent had picked up a bottle and smashed it into Alex’s neck. Laws said: “Out of the blue Dent swung his right hand to the left side of Alex’s neck. Alex backed off and held his hand to his injury.”
Laws went on: “It was an act of pure aggression from the defendant. It was a situation he could have walked away from at any point. Instead he chose to resort to violence of an extreme kind and a young life was wasted as a result.”
