Gang who stabbed music business boss, 32, to loss of life face jail

A gang of muggers who stabbed a music business boss to loss of life for a ‘£125,000’ Patek Philippe watch, that was most likely a faux, are going through jail.

Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, was killed whereas out celebrating his birthday at an occasion at Haz restaurant close to St Paul’s Cathedral within the City of London within the early hours of two May 2022.

Security guard Kavindu Hettarachchi, 30, was working on the occasion and noticed that Mr Odunlami was carrying a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch which, if actual, could be price as much as £300,000, and filmed him carrying it.

Hettarachchi then tipped off associates Jordell Menzies, 27, Quincy Ffrench and Louis Vandrose, each 28, by sending photographs, who drove over armed with knives to rob him exterior the eatery.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC instructed jurors: ‘The grim and tragic irony of all that is that there’s a good cause to suppose that the Patek Philippe watch wasn’t even real.

‘The defendant – though in fact he wasn’t to know that on the time – had killed Emmanuel Odunlami for a faux watch.’

Mr Odunlami, who labored within the music business managing artists, tried to run away however Menzies caught up and stabbed him within the coronary heart with a flick knife.

Antonios Kfoury, 22, who was additionally working as a safety guard, tried to cowl up his associates’ crimes by mendacity to police.

Menzies admitted theft and manslaughter and had described the sufferer as an ‘simple’ civilian goal for a theft.

He admitted arming himself with the flick-knife however stated he didn’t intend to make use of it.

Menzies denied however was convicted of homicide by an Old Bailey jury as we speak after a retrial.

Mr Odunlami’s mom collapsed in tears and stated: ‘Thank you god. I bought justice for my son, thanks, thanks.’

Ffrench and Vandrose had each admitted theft. They denied the costs and had been cleared of homicide however convicted of manslaughter on the first trial earlier this 12 months.

Hettarachchi had admitted theft. He denied however was convicted of manslaughter and theft.

Kfoury denied and was convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Judge Patrick Field, KC, will set a date for sentencing on Thursday.

Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, birthday occasion organised by an occasions firm known as Playhxuse, which arrange an unique desk costing £1,400 within the City of London, the place he had been celebrating with associates.

Hettiarachichi, had been employed by Playhxuse for the non-public ticketed brunch and afterparty with a DJ.

On the day of  Mr Odunlami’s loss of life, he had pushed to the City in his gray hatchback Mercedes and, in addition to the probably  faux designer watch, he was carrying a Dior jacket and carried a Goyard bag whereas others sported Rolex watches, jurors had been instructed.

As the social gathering drew to a detailed at round 11pm, Hettiarachichi was caught on digicam filming his goal exterior Haz bar and summoning Vandrose in a telephone name.

After Mr Odunlami left the restaurant on Foster Lane at 11.15pm with good friend David Manuel to stroll to his automobile in Gresham Street, Ffrench, Menzies and Vandrose jumped from a Mercedes which had been circling the world.

Mr Odunlami was on the bottom and all three defendants kicked him as he lay defenceless, jurors heard.

During the assault, Ffrench, bent down and took Mr Odunlami’s watch and was heard to say ‘bought it’.

The defendants then ran off, leaving the sufferer with a deadly stab wound to the chest.

The flick knife used to kill Mr Odunlami was discovered close to the scene of the assault and bore traces of Menzies’ DNA. 

Afterwards, the killers travelled to Bloomsbury the place they modified their garments earlier than parting firm.

After the killing, his colleague Kfoury tried to obscure his function within the safety association for the occasion at Haz and made a false assertion to the police.

Fake variations of excessive worth watches, together with a bronze Rolex watch and a Royal Oak, had been discovered at Hettiarachchi’s tackle, jurors heard.

Prosecutor Joel Smith stated: ‘Photographs of high-value watches had been additionally recovered from his cell phone.

‘Such materials demonstrates the defendant’s detailed curiosity in and information of faux and real excessive worth watches.’

The prosecutor instructed jurors: ‘On 1st May 2022 a younger man named Emmanuel Odunlami attended a wise social gathering in a restaurant simply across the nook from this constructing – the restaurant known as Haz, simply 500 metres from right here.

‘It was a wise social gathering, individuals had paid fairly some huge cash to be there, and a few of them had been dressed accordingly.

‘Mr Odunlami, as an illustration, was carrying a Patel Philippe Nautilus watch.

‘I do not know if which means something to you- however for these within the know, a Patek Philippe Nautilus is basically fairly one thing.

‘If actual it might price about £125,000. And that night time it price Emmanuel Odunlami his life.

‘Because while he was at that social gathering he was noticed by one of many safety employees working at Haz.

‘That man took a photograph of him carrying that watch, and despatched it to his mates, whose job it was to rob the goal of his watch.

‘A crew of robbers drove all the way down to the restaurant in a white Mercedes.

‘The defendant, Jordell Menzies, was considered one of that crew of robbers. He had armed himself with a knife.

‘He was the primary of the robbers to succeed in Mr Odunlami, and when he reached him, he stabbed him within the chest.

‘The knife penetrated his sufferer’s coronary heart.

‘That stab wound had the specified impact. Mr Odunlami fell to the ground. Mr Menzies and his accomplices had been capable of snatch the watch of his wrist and make their escape- however not earlier than Mr Menzies had given him a kick on the ground for good measure.

‘Having bought what they got here for, they ran again to the automobile, and bought away, leaving Mr Odunlami to die on the road’.

Mr Odunlami’s good friend Daniel Manuel, who knew him as ‘Jay’, instructed the court docket: ‘I knew Jay had an costly Patek Philippe watch, I do not know the worth of the watch however he was carrying all of it night time.

‘I went to Jay, He stood up, I noticed blood throughout his chest and frantically touched him to see the place it was coming from.

‘He stated: ‘I’m gone’ and collapsed.

‘I put the puffer coat over the wound and known as for an ambulance, two males in black came visiting to assist.

‘I now perceive that they had been law enforcement officials.’

Mr Odunlami was gasping for air earlier than he stopped respiratory.

CPR was undertaken by law enforcement officials, together with an oxygen masks being positioned on his face and chest compressions.

London Ambulance Service arrived and Mr Odunlami was taken by ambulance to Royal London Hospital.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced useless shortly after midnight on 2 May.

Giving proof Menzies claimed he took the flick-knife to the theft to ‘scare’ the sufferer.

‘It’s three-on-one so you do not really want a knife. Based on the knowledge we thought this particular person was going to freeze.

‘I knew it was an costly watch, however I did not know the way costly it was.

‘If somebody has cash then they’re extra seemingly to offer it over, slightly than somebody who has labored exhausting for his or her cash.’

He stated he was initially unsure if blood on his garments belonged to him or one other after Mr Odunlami was stabbed.

‘That’s once I stated to Vandrose and Ffrench I assumed I might need caught him and that is once they stated ‘what the f*** do you imply?’

‘I used to be stunned, innit. I assumed it was me at first for a second. I used to be panicking. Ffrench was panicking.

‘About 30 seconds or a minute after that, there is a police automobile behind us and we’re panicking extra as a result of we predict they’re coming for us.

Ffrench admitted he was somebody who ‘bought into a number of bother’ and bought ‘county traces medication’ in Scotland as a youngster.

He insisted he didn’t intend for the sufferer to be stabbed and stated: ‘Couple of minutes into driving he [Menzies] began moaning saying: ‘I feel I might need poked him, I feel I might need poked him’.

‘Vandrose has circled saying: ‘What do you imply? what are you speaking about?’

‘I’m considering bruv why the f-k have you ever bought a knife in my automobile?’

Ffrench, of Tottenham, Vandrose, of Islington, and Menzies, of High Wycombe, every admitted robbing Mr Odunlami of his wrist watch however denied his homicide.

Menzies admitted manslaughter and theft however denied homicide.

Ffrench, Vandrose and Hettiarachchi denied and had been convicted of manslaughter.

Kfoury, of Ealing, west London, denied and was convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Following Menzies’ conviction, Judge Patrick Field KC remanded him in custody to be sentenced at a later date.