Teen detained for murdering man in motorbike row

A teenager has been detained for at least 22 years for murdering a man who named him in his dying breath.

Sanchez Tate, 18, stabbed 21-year-old Mohamed Abdi Noor in the chest after Mr Abdi Noor blamed him for knocking over his motorbike last December on Tufnell Park Road in Islington, north London.

The defendant had claimed he had acted in self-defence, but he was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey.

On Thursday at the same court, he was also handed a 15-month sentence for possessing a blade in a public place.

Mr Abdi Noor was stabbed in the chest in the road where both victim and killer lived.

The court heard he had a "passion for pedal cycles and motorbikes" and had previously told his wife about an earlier incident allegedly involving Tate.

Met Police were called to reports of a fight on the road at about 19:30 GMT, and the jury heard Tate ran off towards his home and was arrested soon after.

Prosecution barrister Catherine Pattison said: “Before he lost consciousness, Mr Abdi Noor said ‘Sanchez’ and repeated it – meaning the name of the person who had stabbed him.

"The level of violence was out of all proportion for what was needed to rob someone.

"It has the hallmarks of targeted, if spontaneous, violence against a known individual, whatever lay behind it."

Det Ch Insp Larry Smith, who led the investigation, said there were "no winners" in this case and Tate, who was 17 at the time, "would have a good deal of time in prison to reflect on the callous stupidity of his actions".

He thanked witnesses who stepped in to try to stop the attack.

"They also alerted emergency services, assisted with first aid, made statements to police and gave crucial evidence at the trial," he added.

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