Two men described as 21st-century highwaymen and who went on a bloody rampage through the streets of London, killing one and brutally assaulting half a dozen more, have been jailed.
19-year-old Nathan Gilmaney and 18-year-old Troy Thomas were both handed ‘life’ sentences Friday with a minimum of 27 and 22 years, respectively, after they were convicted of the murder of Abdul Samad at the Old Bailey.
The prosecution follows a deadly rampage by the pair in 2017 on the night of Friday 15th of June. Riding a moped with removed number plates while wearing balaclavas, the pair demanded the valuables of their first victim, and when he tried to flee they stabbed him in the back — puncturing his lung, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Riding on, Nathan and Troy then attacked a man out with his elderly aunt. Taking their valuables, Nathan then stabbed the man in the stomach.
Then coming upon their third victim, Abdul Samad, the pair stole his iPhone and wallet, stabbing him in the chest after Samad had told the pair his PIN. The victim managed to stumble to his home, and received emergency surgery from paramedics in the street, but ultimately succumbed to the stab wound, which cut his heart.
Stopping to sell on Samad’s mobile phone, the now murderous theives attempted to steal another phone — when the victim refused to hand it over, they stabbed him in the stomach. Just minutes later, they stabbed another man in the arm as they took his mobile phone, and snatched a mobile phone off a woman without wounding her.
The rampage continued at around 2 a.m., when the killers stole a bag from a 16-year-old girl and punched her in the face. The final victim came shortly after, when they stabbed a man in the stomach after he handed over his wallet.
Nathan and Troy attempted to escape police officers on the moped, discarding a motorcycle helmet in the hope officers wouldn’t attempt to ram them off their bike without head protection. Both were arrested.
Appearing in court for their sentencing Friday, The Guardian reports the pair laughed and chatted among themselves in the dock before sentencing. In his defence, Nathan Gilmarney’s lawyer explained the man had an extremely low IQ and suffered from ADHD. Both men had a string of previous convictions.
The successful prosecution of the men comes amid a wave of violent crime in London, which has seen 75 murder investigations launched in 2018, as well as surging youth violence and acid attacks.
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