Drill rapper jailed for rival gang member's murder

A drill rapper has been jailed for at least 37 years after a member of a rival gang was killed in a "revenge" attack at a children's party.

Kacey Boothe, 25, was fatally shot outside the Peterhouse Community Centre in Walthamstow, north-east London, in August 2022.

Kammar Henry-Richards, 26, known as Kay-O, and three others were convicted of his murder.

Henry-Richards, of Enfield, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 37 years at the Old Bailey.

Ka'mani Brightly-Donaldson, 25, from Enfield, Joao Pateco-Te, 28, from Hackney, and Jeffrey Gyimah, 23, from Hackney, were also handed life sentences.

Brightly-Donaldson was told he would serve a minimum term of 38 years, Pateco-Te 37 years and Gyimah 35 years.

All four defendants had admitted being associated with the E9 gang or the linked Holly street gang which were involved in a long standing feud with their rivals, the London Fields gang.

Mr Boothe was attending a party on 13 August at the community centre for the one-year-old son of his friend Khalid Samanter.

Judge Lynn Tayton KC said the offence was committed in a public place where it was known children and members of the public would be coming and going.

"This was a planned revenge attack arising out of gang rivalry in the context of an ongoing pattern of serious tit-for-tat violence," she said.

At their trial, the prosecution said Mr Samanter had been the intended target of the gang.

In the lead up to the shooting, planning meetings took place in a cafe in Leytonstone throughout the day.

Jurors were told the gun used to murder Mr Boothe was the same one used to shoot his older brother Kyle Boothe two years before.

The Old Bailey heard Henry-Richards had written drill lyrics boasting about the same weapon being used.

They read: "Big Boothe and Little got hit, same Sig, that's a sour family.

"Both got slapped at functions, neck and head, handguns come handy."

Prosecutor Anthony Ochard KC said: "The track contained specific information about the circumstances in which Kacey Boothe had been killed that were not in the public domain."

The court also heard impact statements from Mr Boothe's family.

His mother Marcia Rowe said she felt "anger, hurt and pain" throughout the whole case and that the loss of her son left her "feeling as though a part of me is missing".

She said she still suffered "uncontrollable outbursts of tears" and that she felt "relief that some justice will be served and my son's killers have been caught".

Shanice Thomas-Brown, Mr Boothe's partner, said: "Losing Kacey is the worst thing that has happened to us."

She said their children had been "forced to develop an understanding of life, death, danger and violence".

The four defendants were also sentenced for conspiracy to murder relating to the shooting of Abdi-Rahman Jeylaani on Shrubland Road on 2 August 2022.

Sentencing them, Judge Tayton said: "Having considered your individual cases I am of the view that there is no sensible basis upon which to differentiate between you in terms of the roles you played in the murder or the conspiracy to murder.

"Although none of you actually carried out the shootings you all played significant roles in facilitating those offences and I cannot identify any of you as playing a substantially greater part than others."

A fifth defendant, Roody Thomas, 27, from Hackney, was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty for having a prohibited firearm.

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