Man found guilty over east London shooting of nine-year-old girl

The Guardian

2 days ago

A man has been found guilty for his role in the shooting of a nine-year-old girl outside an east London restaurant in a long-running gang feud.
The girl was hit in the head by one of six bullets fired by a man on a passing motorbike as she sat with her family in the Evin restaurant in Kingsland High Street, Hackney, on 29 May last year.
The gunman has not been caught, but jurors were told Javon Riley played a 'key role' before, during and after the shooting.
He carried out reconnaissance of the restaurant before the attack, scouted for potential targets and drove the gunman away in a stolen car, which was later found burnt out.
On Monday, Riley, 33, from Tottenham, north London, was found guilty of causing grievous harm with intent to the nine-year-old girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The child was a victim of a bloody rivalry between Turkish gangs of north London, while three men who were sitting at a nearby table were also struck and injured, the Old Bailey was told.
Riley was also found guilty of attempting to murder Mustafa Kiziltan, 35, Kenan Aydogdu, 45 and Nasser Ali, 44.
The three men were said to be affiliated with the Hackney Turks organised crime gang, who had a rivalry with the Tottenham Turks, with whom Riley had links, the court heard.
The court was told that Aydogdu had been injured in a previous shooting.
The Old Bailey jury deliberated for six hours and three minutes to convict Riley by a majority of 10 to two.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC remanded Riley into custody to be sentenced on 12 September.
He told Riley to expect a lengthy prison sentence, saying: 'You have clearly taken part in a shooting which has led to four people being injured, one of them particularly seriously.'
The nine-year-old girl spent three months in hospital and will have lifelong physical and cognitive problems as the bullet remains lodged in her brain.
The three male victims received gunshot wounds to the arm, leg and thigh.
In a statement, the girl's mother said: 'In a single moment, the future we had imagined for our daughter was torn away.
'She was once an energetic, adventurous child – everything that celebrated movement, energy and life.
'Now, weakness on her left side means she can only watch from the sidelines, living with a titanium plate in her skull and a bullet still in her brain.
'As parents, we are shattered: emotionally, physically, mentally and financially.
'Each day brings new challenges, from her slower growth on one side to the emotional and mental scars that cannot be seen.'
During the three-week trial, Riley was repeatedly asked to identify the 'third party' who had recruited him for about £40,000.
He refused to name them or help to identify the gunman, claiming he feared for his life and those of his family.
Scotland Yard has offered a reward of up to £15,000 for information that leads to the identification, arrest of and prosecution the man who fired the weapon.
The court heard that Jamaica-born Riley had a string of convictions dating back to 2008 including for possession of cannabis and cocaine, driving offences and having an offensive weapon and a blade in his car.