Two drill rappers have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an 18-year-old in a ride-by shooting in north London, following a dispute on Snapchat over mobile phone data. Emmanuel Popoola, known as Constancy, and Teyvon Etefia, known as Take Risks, were both 18 at the time of the killing. They were convicted at the Old Bailey in London of murder and possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life, and each received a minimum term of 28 years.
Details of the attack
The victim, Keanu Harker, was shot in the head and chest with a pistol after a chase through Enfield. He was riding a bicycle when Popoola, the pillion passenger on a high-powered electric dirt bike ridden by Etefia, opened fire. The attack occurred on the evening of June 26 last year. Prosecutor Louise Oakley KC told jurors that the defendants chased Harker on their e-bike, and Popoola shot him when they rode alongside. Harker fell off his bicycle onto the road and, mortally injured, crawled into a front garden as the defendants fled.
Motivation and background
The murder was motivated by a Snapchat row in which voice messages implied that Popoola could not afford to buy data for his mobile phone. The killing took place amid rivalry between two Enfield gangs: the 3x3 gang, to which Harker was affiliated, and the Get Money Gang (GMG), associated with the defendants. Following the murder, gang members bragged about the killing in drill rap videos.
Judge Anthony Leonard KC told the defendants: "Keanu Harker was affiliated with the 3×3 gang, a rival gang to yours – that is not a reason he should lose his life at such a young age. I take into account what has been said about the influence of senior older members of the gang to younger more impressionable members of the gang. But in this case the decision to murder Keanu Harker was personal to you. It was your planned intention to shoot him because of what he said about you, Popoola, on a public forum."
Aftermath and investigation
After the shooting, the defendants dumped the e-bike, discarded their clothes, and Etefia disposed of a machete in a neighboring garden. They were then collected in a car driven by Eliezer Mbaki, 25, known as Spider, from Tottenham, who was jailed for four years and nine months for perverting the course of justice. A youth recovered the e-bike. The two killers then attempted to flee to France by train. Popoola boarded a one-way Eurostar service from London St Pancras to Paris with the help of his girlfriend Anais King, 19. Etefia booked his own ticket but was tracked by police, who boarded the train and arrested him two minutes before it was due to depart.
Popoola made it to Paris, and officers in London focused on his girlfriend, who planned to join him and bring him nail clippers, a comb, and deodorant. Detectives received information of her Eurostar booking and devised a plan for her to lead them to Popoola with help from French police, who monitored King on her arrival at Gare du Nord. From there, she took a taxi to Popoola’s apartment, where Paris gendarmes arrested him. Popoola was extradited from France to London, and King was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Victim impact statements
In a victim impact statement, Harker’s mother, Kristen Harker, said: "Keanu did not deserve to die. He was not perfect but he was my son and he had his whole life ahead of him." She described him as a vulnerable teenager who was influenced and groomed by older individuals who "should have known better." She added: "Instead of being protected, he was exploited. It takes a truly evil person to take someone else’s child away forever. My son was killed over postcodes that belong to no-one." She said hearing his death had been turned into rap lyrics was "cruel, callous and deeply disrespectful."
The victim’s father, Chris Hope, said: "Keanu mattered. He was loved and he should still be here." Aunt Summer Adams addressed the defendants in court: "They took a life which they had no right to do. For what? To score points for a postcode for people who don’t care about them."
Further proceedings
Jurors also convicted King and a 17-year-old youth of perverting the course of justice. They will be sentenced at a later date.
