Three young adults who belonged to a North London gang were found guilty of attempted murder after stabbing a rival on Camden High Street last November.
A court at the Old Bailey heard last week that Agar Grove gang members Kye Regis, 19, Celyse Knight, 18, and Khalil Haidara, 18, showed “scant regard for human life” when they stabbed their rival Omar Greaves in a “territorial” gangland feud.
The court heard that Greaves, who is linked to Islington’s NOL gang, suffered five stab wounds, the deepest of which measured 14 cm deep. A prosecution expert said nine further cuts were found on his clothes, totalling 14 blows, each delivered with a “moderate amount of force.”
On Friday (10 October), the defendants were seen in the dock sniggering as the jury delivered its verdict. Regis muttered, “Oh my god”, and joked that he’d “throw a book” as the foreman found them each guilty of attempted murder. Judge Philip Katz, least amused, said they could “shut up or leave the court.”
Over a three-day trial at the Old Bailey, the jury heard how all defendants have several convictions relating to drugs and knife possession, something that Crown barrister Barry McElduff KC concluded was part of the “same factual background” of gang violence as the stabbing on Greaves.
Drill rap contains ‘voluntary confession’
The jury, composed of eight men and four women, was shown evidence found on Regis’s phone, which the Crown said made “specific reference” to the stabbing that amounted to a “true and voluntary confession” of their intent to kill.
One text message sent from Regis’s phone in the hours after the attack read: “I nearly caught one, but sadly he came back to life.” But the defence said this was actually in relation to the video game, Call of Duty, where defeated players can be revived.
In another note containing drill rap lyrics depicting Bonnie and Clyde “shaving and stabbing”, the jury was told this was a reference to Regis and Knight’s relationship and the stabbing of Greaves. The Crown said the song, titled “Bloody Deals”, was timestamped to the morning of the attack and written with an “adrenaline high”.
But Regis’s defence counsel Peter Corrigan KC insisted the lyrics had the “hallmarks of exaggeration” and said this was common in the punk rock genre. He added he used to listen to rebellious rock bands like Rage Against the Machine, but that did not turn him into a violent criminal.
Judge Katz reminded the jury that they were not presented with the note to “criminalise music”, rather to determine whether the prosecution was right to claim that it was a “confession” of the defendants’s intention to kill gang rival Greaves.
He stressed further that they must make their verdict only on the evidence presented, and that they “disregard” any prejudices they may have about gangs.
Judge Katz noted that both Greaves and the three defendants refused to testify in court, and gave no comment during their interviews with police. He told the jury that while the parties were well within their rights to maintain their silence, it certainly invites reasonable speculation about why they have chosen not to speak up.
CCTV shows ‘chaotic’ street attack
At trial, the jury was shown footage captured by CCTV and a mobile phone from the night of Greaves’s stabbing last November.
But the court heard and saw how the videos were too blurry to make out “who dealt which blow”, as the Crown explained why all three defendants were jointly charged with the same crime.
The footage shows that the three defendants, who each wielded their own knives, repeatedly struck Greaves for about 20 seconds before dispersing. A doctor’s report would later show he suffered five stab wounds, but found nine further cuts to his clothes.
Noting the most serious injury, which measured 14 cm deep, the Crown said this matched the length of the victim’s blood stain on one of the three knives recovered by police belonging to each defendant.
The stabbing, which took place on Camden High Street on the night of 3 November 2024, left Greaves needing life-saving surgery, the jury was told. A prosecution expert said all 14 blows were delivered with a “moderate amount of force”, which the Crown argued proves their intention to kill Greaves.
However, Knight’s defence counsel George Payne KC said the defendants could merely be trying to “scare him off” their territory, stressing the footage is not sufficient to prove his client’s intent beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by the criminal standard of proof.
He argued further that Knight, who was 17 at the time of the offence, was “motivated by events” and told members of the jury that the footage shows Knight had the least involvement in the stabbing.
Haidara’s defence counsel Jide Lanlehin KC argued similarly that his client’s knife was actually “never used” based on the footage and the colour of Haidara’s blade.
Regis pleaded guilty to a lesser offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GHB), while both Knight and Haidara have pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. All three have pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article.
The jury took just three hours to come to a unanimous guilty verdict on the charge of attempted murder. Judge Katz remarked: “It took a lot less time than I thought”, before thanking members of the jury for having “done your job with great care.”
However, the judge said he was unable to sentence the group today because Knight is concerned in another “more serious” matter. He requested a pre-sentencing report that will likely take into account the defendants’s personal circumstances. They are due to be sentenced on 19 December.