Prominent South London gangster convicted after being found with loaded handgun
A high-profile member of a South London gang has been found guilty of possessing a loaded revolver in a court case involving firearms, violence and disputes in Brixton.
Jyrelle O’Connor, 23, also known as ‘Loski’, was convicted yesterday following a three-year investigation.
The judge and jury heard that on April 9, 2009, O’Connor, of Black Pond Lane, Farnham, was seen getting into an Uber under a false name.
Unarmed officers in uniform stopped the vehicle along the A40 St Andrews Road in Acton, west London.
Officers searched the car and found a small black sock underneath the front passenger seat, directly in front of where O’Connor had been sitting. Inside the sock was the small black loaded revolver.
He was arrested and charged the following day with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a firearm when prohibited for five years, possessing ammunition for a firearm when prohibited for five years, possessing a firearm and possessing a controlled drug of class B (cannabis).
Forensic analysis of the firearm confirmed it to be a 4mm Flobert Calibre Revolver with loaded live ammunition. O’Connor’s DNA was found on the loading face of the cylinder.
O’Connor denied the charges and claimed he was forced to hold on to the gun after a drug dealer made threats against him and his mother’s lives. The jury unanimously rejected that defence.
O’Connor was originally stopped that day as officers wanted to question him in relation to the events that led to the death of his friend, Latwaan Griffiths, in July 2018.
Investigating officers believe that Latwaan was fatally stabbed following an attempted shooting on a rival gang.
O’Connor is due to be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court tomorrow.
Detective Constable Andy Snazell, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “I have no doubt that O’Connor, or his gang associates, would have used this revolver in the future, and by finding and destroying it we have taken a lethal weapon off the streets and potentially saved a life.”
Pictured top: Jyrelle O’Connor (Picture: The Met)
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