Armed robber jailed for life for drug dealer death

A 19-year-old robber has been jailed for life for the "torture" murder of a cannabis dealer for £30,000 of drugs in north London.

The Old Bailey heard how a group of men burst into the home of Albanian national Olsi Kuka, 25, while he was asleep, and ransacked his flat in Whetstone for his stash of cannabis on 11 May 2022.

Mr Kuka was shot four times in the head with a BB gun before he was fatally stabbed with two knives in the early morning raid, the court heard.

Reuben Bernard, of Northamptonshire, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was convicted of murder, wounding with intent and conspiracy to rob.

Bernard, the last of the group to be sentenced for what the judge described as a "determined and deliberate joint attack", was detained on Tuesday for a minimum term of 22 years.

Referencing victim impact statements, Judge Lynn Tayton KC described Mr Kuka's parents as "very shocked" by the "brutality" of their son's death, and said they are "emotionally and physically devastated".

Mr Kuka was found with 10 knife injuries as well as the four metal ball bearings embedded in his scalp.

On Tuesday, prosecution barrister Philip McGhee called it a "frenzied attack", adding: "The prosecution case is that it was done to in effect torture Mr Kuka to make him reveal the whereabouts of the drugs."

Addressing Bernard, Judge Tayton said: "Olsi Kuka was a cannabis dealer but he was also a person with a family who loved him and miss him and whose lives will never be the same because you killed him."

Bernard, of Wootton, admitted going into the bedroom but claimed the victim pulled out a gun and held it to the head of another person.

He said he punched Mr Kuka in the face to force him to drop the firearm before someone else killed him.

Bernard, who had a previous conviction for having a knife, claimed he was forced to stab the victim three times or be stabbed himself.

Jason Pitter KC, defending, argued that although a robbery was committed it was "not a murder done for the purpose of gain", but the judge said it "clearly" was.

Mr Pitter also said the court could not be sure there was an intention to kill, which the judge accepted.

At previous hearings four others involved in the attack were jailed for terms between six and 11 years.

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