Two teenage drug dealers who brutally stabbed an unarmed man “in cold blood” as he sat behind the wheel of his car have been jailed.
Abdul Jalloh, 23, was ambushed by hooded men at New Union Close in Tower Hamlets, east London last August amid a “turf war”.
After the attack, the pair changed their clothes and then mingled with police officers searching for Mr Jalloh’s killers.
Earlier, CCTV footage showed Shamiah McKenzie, 18, and Codee Godfrey, 19, circling the Isle of Dogs on bicycles for more than an hour looking for their victim.
Mr Jalloh was unable to defend himself and despite the best efforts of emergency services, died a short time later as a result of a stab wound in his neck.
McKenzie and Godfrey threw the knife and its sheath and McKenzie’s bike into the Thames at Caledonian Wharf.
They then packed their bloody clothing and footwear into bags.
Metropolitan Police detectives uncovered that they changed into summer clothes and disposed of the bags and two mobile phones in nearby bushes.
In one bag, £3,000 worth of cannabis, £2,000 cash, a vacuum sealing machine used to package drugs and business cards with their phone numbers were found.
McKenzie and Godfrey were so confident in their changed appearance that they returned to the Thames Path which was full of officers.
Both turned themselves in to police on August 8 and were charged the following day.
At the Old Bailey on Friday, McKenzie, of Colvin Close, Lewisham, received life with a minimum of 22 years for murder.
Godfrey, of Grosvenor Wharf Road, Tower Hamlets, was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for Mr Jalloh’s manslaughter.
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Detective Chief Inspector Paul Waller, from Specialist Crime North – who led the investigation – said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Abdul Jalloh, who lost a loved one in shocking circumstances.
“By carrying and using a knife, their callous act demonstrates once again the devastating and far-reaching effects of knife crime.
“I therefore commend the officers who worked incredibly hard to build evidence against McKenzie and Godfrey in order to prove that there could be no doubt as to their guilt.
“London will be a safer place with them taken off the streets.
“I also want to thank the local community who came forward to assist officers with footage they had on the day. They displayed immense courage in giving evidence to the court.”
