The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Teen robbers jailed for more than 20 years
Two teenage moped riders have each been jailed for more than 20 years after stabbing a charity youth worker to death.
Nathan Gilmaney, 19, and Troy Thomas, 18, tried to rob as many people as possible, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake on October 16 last year.
They killed 28-year-old Abdul Samad for his iPhone as they swept across west London on a scooter.
Gilmaney was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 27 years and Thomas detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure with a minimum of 22 years at the Old Bailey yesterday.
They chatted to each other at times during the hearing, repeatedly smiling and laughing together in the dock.
Gilmaney shouted obscenities moments after the sentence was passed and the public gallery had to be cleared after repeated outbursts.
Judge Richard Marks QC described the victims family’s statements as “heart-rending” and added: “Abdul Samad was an outstanding young man in his 20s, engaged to be married and had his whole life ahead of him.
“Your wicked stabbing of him has left his family understandably utterly devastated.”
Gilmaney knifed the charity youth worker in the chest in an attempt to get the Pin for his phone, the judge said.
After being stabbed, Mr Samad collapsed on his doorstep in front of his parents while the robbers prowled the streets for their next victim. Their spree was committed over four hours in north-west London and involved nine knife-point robberies.