Justice for Jemal as three men sentenced over fatal stabbing

Three men have been sentenced for the manslaughter of a 23-year-old man who was fatally stabbed in South Tottenham.

Jemal Ebrahim was stabbed in the leg after being chased into an alleyway between Braemar Road and Southey Road on 13th May 2020. He later died from his injuries in hospital, with a post-mortem showing his femoral artery had been severed.

Tyrese Annan, aged 20 of Sterling Road, Tottenham, and Mizuki Brown, aged 25 of Margery Street, Clerkenwell, were found guilty of the manslaughter of Jemal Ebrahim following a trial in October, while Abdul Gaffer, aged 25 of Marquis Road, Camden, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Yesterday (Monday) the three men appeared at the Old Bailey; Annan was sentenced to eleven years in a young offender’s institution; Brown was sentenced to twelve years in prison; and Gaffer was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison.

Detective Inspector Andy McDonald said: “Jemal Ebrahim was a young man who had high hopes and dreams for his life. He had a bright future ahead of him after studying business in China. Sadly, he was unable to return to China to continue his studies due to Covid travel restrictions. His potential will forever remain unfulfilled due to the actions of these three men.

“Jemal’s family and friends will have to live the rest of their lives without him and no prison term can ever fill this hole in their lives, however I hope that this sentence can begin to bring some comfort to them.”

The prosecution case was that Brown and Annan arrived at the scene in a silver Nissan Qashqai driven by Gaffer on a ‘ride-out’ intent on attacking any member, or perceived member, of a rival gang.

CCTV footage showed that Jemal was chased into an alleyway between Braemar Road and Southey Road. He was chased out of the alleyway by three youths, at least two of whom were armed with large knives. At least two of the youths caught up with him and then ran off. CCTV captured three men running back towards the silver Nissan and then getting in, before it rapidly left the area.

CCTV analysis tracked the movement of the Nissan, which stopped in Effingham Road. Brown, Annan and Gaffer were all then identified walking along streets in this area a short time later. All three were arrested and charged in connection with Jemal’s death on 15th June 2020.

Five days after Jemal’s killing, in an apparent ‘tit for tat’ act of violence, Chad Gordon was shot dead on Wiltshire Gardens Estate, just off Green Lanes. At least one of the gunmen involved in the shooting was a friend of Jemal. Chad was the victim of mistaken identity and had no gang links whatsoever.

DI Andy McDonald added: “Jemal was sadly befriended and exploited by other young men in the locality who were embroiled in an all too common problem within our great city – postcode ‘gang’ wars. Jemal paid with his life as a result of the unprovoked, violent and indiscriminate actions of these men.

“This has been an extensive and diligent investigation by my team which remains open as we work to identify two other men involved in this attack. My team and I will continue working to get justice for Jemal’s family.”

In a statement, Jemal’s sister Nema said: “Our hearts are broken, Jemal had a promising life ahead of him; from leaving the country for good at the young age of 16 to pursue education abroad to then finalising his first year of business school in Hangzhou, China before returning for the Christmas holiday and being stuck here due to Covid.”

If anyone has any information about other individuals involved in this incident they are asked to call 020 8358 0200, quoting ‘Operation Scholes’. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.