Muhammed Cabdiqaadir, 25, is on trial at the Old Bailey for the murder of 19-year-old Rinneau Perrineau, who was stabbed to death following an argument outside a food and wine store in Lavender Hill, south-west London, on October 21 last year.
Altercation at Thirsty Camel Food and Wine
Prosecutor Brian O’Neill KC told jurors that Cabdiqaadir arrived at the Thirsty Camel Food and Wine shop at around 3.05pm. Mr Perrineau entered at about 3.12pm and asked the shopkeeper if he could sell him an iPhone. A store worker witnessed Cabdiqaadir, Mr Perrineau, and a third man, Nijab Rage, arguing before they left the premises at around 3.17pm.
Car incident and fatal stabbing
Outside, Cabdiqaadir got into his blue Citroen and drove towards Clapham Junction. The other two men continued arguing outside the shop. Cabdiqaadir then returned, and Mr Rage got into the passenger seat. Mr Perrineau picked up a windbreaker from a neighbouring store and hit the car as they drove away. Cabdiqaadir drove towards Clapham Junction railway station, performed a U-turn, and headed back to the shop. He parked on a bend, and the pair exited to inspect the car for damage.
The victim, who had returned to the shop after the initial altercation, walked up the same road. As he approached the corner, the Citroen came into view. The car stopped, and the driver's door opened and closed. Mr Perrineau ran around the back of the car, and Cabdiqaadir, wearing a green hoodie and dark bottoms, exited the vehicle. Mr O’Neill KC said Cabdiqaadir was allegedly holding a small, pointed object in his right hand, which the prosecution says is a knife.
An eyewitness described seeing the defendant “lurch forward towards the other male” before driving off “pretty quickly” afterwards. The two men left Mr Perrineau “bleeding from his chest in the street.”
Victim's statement and death
When police arrived, they asked Mr Perrineau how he had been injured. He responded: “I don’t know, I think a knife.” He was taken to St George’s Hospital and died three days later on October 24.
Arrest and charge
Cabdiqaadir was arrested at an Esso service station in Slough on October 25. When asked for his name by a police officer, he said “no comment”. Upon arrest and caution, he allegedly said: “Are you sure it was me?” He was charged with murder on October 26. During his first court appearance, he shouted that “it was self-defence.”
Mr O’Neill KC said: “The prosecution submit that you can be sure that he was not acting in lawful self-defence because it’s clear from the CCTV that it was Mr Cabdiqaadir who was the one armed with a knife and Rinneau Perrineau was not.”
Cabdiqaadir, of Wandsworth, denies murder and possession of a bladed article. The trial continues.
