Three men jailed for the murder of 16-year-old Rhamero West in Manchester
Rhamero died in Old Trafford following a car chase last year
Three young men have been jailed for a total of 61 years, after a jury found them all guilty of the murder of Rhamero West.
Manchester Crown Court heard how, at around 5.40pm on Thursday 9 September 2021, Rhamero and his friends had driven to Millennium Park in the Moss Side area.
A BMW 1 Series and BMW 3 Series drove past them at speed and the vehicle Rhamero was in carried on in the direction of Princess Road.
The car turned onto Princess Road and stopped in stationary traffic. This was when Marquis Richards (21/02/05) approached the driver's side of the car and lunged, with a large knife, several times towards the driver.
Richards and 19-year-old Ryan Cashin (16/08/02) then fled in the two BMWs which pursued the vehicle Rhamero was in along Moss Lane East. The pursuit resulted in a collision with another car and a tree, at which point Rhamero and his friends fled on foot in the direction of Darnley Street.
Richards, armed with a large knife, alighted the BMW 1 Series and chased Rhamero and his friends down Darnley Street and onto Norton Street. When Richards appeared to run out of breath he handed the weapon over to Cashin who took hold of it like a baton in a relay race. He then took the lead chasing the group further down Norton Street.
Rhamero began garden hopping to get away from the offenders but then resorted to lying down to hide in one of the front gardens. Cashin, brandishing the large knife, was heard to shout “Arrg got you” before striking Rhamero with the knife several times, causing serious injury and blood loss.
Cashin and Richards then fled the scene in the BMWs.
Local residents attempted to administer first aid to Rhamero before paramedics arrived and conducted open heart surgery in the street. He was then taken to hospital but sadly died as a result of his injuries.
Following forensic recovery of the BMW 1 Series, which was abandoned in Stretford at around 7.30pm that evening, Richards' DNA was found on the front passenger seat and Cashin's was found on the rear passenger seat.
The DNA of Giovanni Lawrence (07/02/2002) couldn't be ruled out from mixed DNA found on the driver's seat adjuster, windscreen wiper controls and driver's seat belt buckle. When considered alongside mobile telephone evidence, the jury accepted he was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the pursuit.
In the weeks following the incident, the 17-year-old and Cashin were arrested and subsequently charged with murder. Lawrence remained on the run until January 2022 when he was arrested by officers in Cheshire and charged with murder.
Today (Friday 27 May 2022), at Manchester Crown Court,17-year-old Marquis Richards, of Anne Nuttall Road, Hulme, was jailed for 17 years and three months; 19-year-old Ryan Cashin, of Nancy Street, Hulme, was jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years and four months; and 18-year-old Giovanni Lawrence, of Culmington Close, Hulme, was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years and seven months.
Detective Chief Inspector Liz Hopkinson, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said:
"Rhamero was only 16-years-old when he was violently, and needlessly, murdered in broad daylight by a group of teenagers. No parent should ever have to receive the news that their child has been killed and the perpetrators, refusing to admit responsibility, have only added to their suffering by forcing them to endure the pain of a trial.
"These three caused carnage across South Manchester in the lead up to Rhamero's death and it's a miracle that no members of the public were also injured as a result of their reckless driving and acts of violence.
"From the outset, my team have been committed to securing the best possible outcome for Rhamero and his family. Our investigation saw us speak with hundreds of witnesses and trawl through many more hours of CCTV footage as we pieced together the events of that afternoon.
"I'm pleased that we've been able to secure a combined sentence of more than 61 years' imprisonment and although sadly this result won't bring Rhamero back, I hope it provides his family with a sense of justice and closure."