A 33-year-old man was sentenced to 34 years in prison on Friday after a judge found he played a central role in a gangland shooting in east London that left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain.
Javon Riley was convicted last month of three counts of attempted murder and of causing grievous bodily harm with intent for his part in the attack outside the Evin Restaurant on Kingsland High Street in Dalston in May. Six shots were fired from a passing motorbike; the gunman and the weapon have not been found.
Prosecutors said Riley had assisted before, during and after the shooting. Evidence presented at a three-week trial showed he carried out reconnaissance of the restaurant, scouted for potential targets and drove the gunman away in a stolen car that was later burned out. Riley admitted to conducting reconnaissance, spotting targets and picking up the shooter but told jurors he believed he was aiding a "smash-and-grab" robbery rather than an assassination.
The three men who were shot — named in court as Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu and Nasser Ali — survived with wounds to an arm, a leg and a thigh. The nine-year-old girl was struck in the head by the first bullet and spent three months in hospital. Prosecutors said she will suffer lifelong physical and cognitive problems because the bullet remains lodged in her brain.
Sentencing Riley, Judge Mark Lucraft KC told the court the assault was part of a wider cycle of "tit for tat" violence linked to a decade of gang rivalry in London and overseas. Jurors heard the three adult victims were affiliated with the Hackney Turks organised crime group and that Riley had links to a rival gang, described in evidence as the Tottenham Turks.
Riley was asked during the trial to identify a "third party" who prosecutors said had recruited him for a fee of about £40,000, but he refused, citing fear for his life and the safety of his family. Police said the shooter has not been located and the firearm used in the attack remains missing.
Scotland Yard has offered a reward of up to £15,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person who fired the shots. Investigators continue to appeal to members of the public for information that could help locate the gunman.
The case has drawn attention to continuing gang-related violence in parts of London, where authorities have said organised crime groups have engaged in retaliatory killings and attempted murders over recent years. Prosecutors portrayed the Dalston attack as a premeditated, targeted act rather than random street violence.
Riley’s sentence was handed down as courts and police reiterated the risks posed to bystanders when guns are used in public. The nine-year-old’s long-term care needs and the lasting impact on the victims were factors cited by prosecutors and referenced by the judge at sentencing.
Police inquiries into the wider network behind the shooting remain ongoing as detectives seek to identify and bring to justice the person who pulled the trigger.