A 21-year-old inmate was murdered at a north London prison in a battle over control of the wing’s contraband route, a court has heard.
Jamal Mahmoud was killed at Pentonville prison on 18 October last year in an attack of such “calculated brutality” that it shocked even hardened prisoners, a prosecutor told an Old Bailey jury on Thursday.
Basana Kimbembi, 35, Joshua Ratner, 27, and Robert Butler, 31, are charged with murdering Mahmoud, a new father, to take control of the smuggling route into the wing.
Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said: “He [Mahmoud] was killed with calculated brutality by a group of men armed with weapons that went to find him and those with him.
“That lethal violence was quite deliberate and expected. When it happened, both sides knew that it was going to happen and were prepared to engage in it. In the event, the level of it was shocking, shocking to those who lived in that place.”
Harewood said another shocking aspect of the death was that it took place on a wing that was populated with people and overseen 24 hours a day by staff.
“The sheer determination of the killers is indicated by the fact that neither the location, the security or the presence of prison staff served to stop it or deter the violence or the weapons used to drive it home,” he said.
The lawyer told the court that the defendants armed themselves in advance and went to confront Mahmoud and his associates who were also armed.
“They did so to make their point and to succeed in resisting the others and getting control of part of the lucrative contraband route on to that wing of the prison,” he said.
“In doing so, they acted together, intending to use the weapons to cause really serious, even lethal harm – to confront.”
The defendants have denied murder as well as wounding a second man, Mohammed Ali, with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm.
The trial continues.
