Two men have been sentenced for killing an “innocent bystander” by shooting him and stabbing him 12 times in Enfield, London.
Bilkan Bilkaner, 20, and Duke Quainoo, 21, both of Enfield, were found guilty of murder, GBH with intent, and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life for the March 16th slaying of 23-year-old Russell Jordan Jones, an official police statement reports.
“On a freezing cold night last March, Bilkaner and Quainoo armed themselves with a sawn off shotgun and knives before setting out in search of opposing gang members,” recalled Detective Inspector Simon Stancombe, from the Metropolitan Police Force’s Homicide and Major Crime Command.
“Tragically, the group they chose were not in a gang, they were simply a group of young men chatting outside a shop. These two thugs shot Russell before stabbing him 12 times as he lay defenceless on the ground. They also thrust a knife into the back of one of Russell’s friends as he tried to get away.
“The wickedness and ferocity of the attack, which was captured on CCTV, has shocked even the most seasoned of homicide detectives,” he added.
The victim’s mother wrote in a family imapct statement: “Russell was my only son, the twin to my daughter, my parents’ only grandson and my sisters’ only nephew…
“Every day I torture myself with the same horrible questions: did Russell know what was happening to him? Did he know what they were doing? How much pain was he in? What was going through his mind? Was he begging them to stop? Was he crying for his Mum?
“I have no answers, just a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach each and every time I think about it.”
“He will live on in my heart and all of our lives forever, but life for me will never be the same,” the mother added.
Bilkaner and Quainoo each received 29-year sentences — fairly stringent by British standards, although given their ages they will still be relatively young when released even if they serve full terms in custody.
A third suspect, Kallum Martin, was found not guilty of all charges including murder — infuriating Bilkaner and Quainoo.
“[W]hen Martin was found not guilty, they could hide their violent nature no more; launching a vicious attack on him in the dock, punching, kicking and making vile threats to him,” observed Detective Inspector Stancombe.
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