A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years for his role in a gangland shooting outside an east London restaurant, which left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain. Javon Riley, from Tottenham, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of causing grievous harm with intent and three counts of attempted murder.
The shooting took place on 29 May last year at the Evin restaurant in Kingsland High Street, Hackney, as the girl ate ice cream with her family. She was struck by one of six bullets fired by a gunman on a Ducati Monster motorbike. Three men at a nearby table were also injured in the attack, which was part of a violent dispute between rival Turkish gangs, the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks.
Sentencing Riley on Friday, Judge Lucraft KC said the feud had led to a series of tit-for-tat murders and attempted murders over the past decade. He noted that the girl and her family would have to cope with the life-changing injuries she sustained through mindless violence. The three male victims, said to be affiliated with the Hackney Turks, suffered gunshot wounds to the arm, leg and thigh.
Riley was described as playing a key role before, during and after the shooting, carrying out reconnaissance of the restaurant, scouting potential targets and driving the gunman away in a stolen car that was later burned out. He refused to identify the person who recruited him for about £40,000, citing fear for his life and family. The gunman remains at large.
The girl spent three months in hospital and will suffer lifelong physical and cognitive problems as the bullet remains lodged in her brain. In a victim impact statement read by the judge, her mother said the family had moved to the UK for a brighter future and described the trauma as relentless. Scotland Yard has offered up to £15,000 for information leading to the gunman's arrest.
Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, who led the investigation, urged anyone with information to come forward, saying the dangerous man responsible for pulling the trigger was walking free and that witnesses should reconsider any decision to stay silent.
