Glendon Spence death: Teenagers jailed after 'merciless' killing of man stabbed at Brixton youth centre

Katy Clifton11 October 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two teenagers have been jailed for killing an aspiring mechanic in a "shocking and cruel" attack in front of children inside a youth centre in south London.

Glendon Spence, 23, and his friends sought refuge at the Marcus Lipton Youth Centre in Brixton when two hooded teenagers ran at them armed with large knives.

Mr Spence tripped and fell by a table tennis table and was set upon by one of the youths in a "swift and merciless" attack in front of horrified staff and youngsters.

He suffered a stab wound to his thigh, severing the femoral artery, and was pronounced dead at the scene soon after the attack on the evening of February 21.

Glendon Spence was fatally stabbed at the Marcus Lipton youth centre
PA

His attackers were driven off by an accomplice in a BMW, the Old Bailey heard.

Rishon Florant, 18, of Peterborough Road, Waltham Forest, east London, who was accused of delivering the fatal wound, denied being involved.

However, a jury took 21 hours to find him guilty of murder last month and he was jailed for at least 18 years on Friday.

Florant laughed and shouted up to friends in the public gallery as he was sent down.

Florant was jailed for 18 years
Met Police

Chibuzo Ukonu, of Loughton, Essex, who identified Florant as the stabber, was found guilty of manslaughter and was jailed for 14 years.

The 18-year-old had told jurors he was also at the scene but had no intention to cause any harm to Mr Spence, let alone an intention to kill.

Ukonu was jailed for 14 years
Met Police

During sentencing, Judge Mark Dennis QC told the pair: "The whole event had taken less than 90 seconds. Glendon Spence died at the scene from heavy bloody loss.

"The exact motive for the attack is unknown, however the attack has all the hallmarks for organised gang violence.

"This was grave offending of the utmost seriousness. The CCTV captured what was a shocking and cruel attack and one which would have horrified or caused great alarm to anyone that witnessed it.

"You are both young men attracted to and engaged in an urban culture that embraces violence."

Earlier on Friday, the victim's family described their devastation at the loss of Mr Spence, who hoped to become a motor mechanic.

In a statement, they told of their "pity" for his killers, taking comfort from their memories of Mr Spence.

The court heard how Florant had multiple previous convictions for carrying knives dating back to when he was aged 15.

Ukonu also had a conviction for carrying a 12-inch combat knife when he was aged 15.

He told police at the time: "Not gonna lie, I got something on me. Brixton is a dangerous place."

He was also caught possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

The court was told how people in the area of Brixton where the murder took place had taken to wearing body vests because of the "prevalence of knife crime".

The fact the stabbing of Mr Spence was targeted on the leg indicated it was a focused attack, the prosecution suggested.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in