Man jailed over south east London killing

A man who fled to America has now been jailed for the murder of a man in south east London

Dean Pascal Modeste was attacked in 2017 after travelling with two friends to Grove Park from Barking to take part in a music video.

He was set upon by a group who repeatedly stabbed him, puncturing his left lung, which a post-mortem exam concluded was the primary cause of death.

Police say the 21-year-old was an innocent victim of gang violence and that it was probably the presence of his friends who were in a gang, which caused the rival gang to launch the attack.

Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney, of the Met’s Specialist Crime, said:

“This defendant was part of gang who carried out a savage attack in broad daylight. Many had armed themselves and then set out determined to do violence. Dean was an innocent person, but that was immaterial, their blood was up and they hunted Dean through the streets, surrounded him and murdered him.

"Officers were determined to bring those responsible to justice and detailed searches of the area found some of the knives that had been used, and extensive CCTV and phone enquires helped place his killers at the scene. Two of his killers had fled abroad, but we were determined to find them and bring them to account and both have now been convicted.

"I also want to personally thank the many local residents who went to Dean's aid or came forward as witnesses. The evidence they gave was compelling and helped to bring Dean’s killers to justice."

Jahtel Williamson is the fifth person to be convicted over Dean's killing. He's been told he will serve a minimum of 23 years in jail.

The 26 year old was extradited from Washington DC in May and arrested following his arrival at Heathrow Airport.

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