Teens who chased and killed young man in Brixton youth centre found guilty of murder and manslaughter

BY TOBY PORTER
toby@slpmedia.co.uk

Two teenagers who chased a young man into a youth club before stabbing him to death in front of children have been found guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Glendon Spence, from Lewisham, was killed at the Marcus Lipton Youth Centre in Minet Road, Brixton earlier this year after he tried to escape from Chibuzo Ukonu and Rishon Florant who were armed with knives.

Glendon knew the youth club well after spending a number of years there and attempted to find safety when he arrived at around 6.45pm on February 21. He died less than 45
minutes later.

Ukonu and Florant followed him inside and attacked the 23-year-old in front of children as young as 10, stabbing him in the leg repeatedly.

CCTV footage showed Ukonu, 18, and Florant, 17, arriving and leaving in a BMW and the attack was captured on cameras located inside and outside the youth centre – the car was later found abandoned after an attempt to set it on fire.

The footage shows Ukonu and Florant barging into the youth centre with large knives in open view.

After Glendon fell down by a table tennis table the pair targeted him in an attack which lasted a number of seconds.

A post-mortem gave Glendon’s cause of death as stab injuries to the thigh. Florant was arrested at an airport attempting to escape to Uganda, and Ukonu was found by officers at an address in Salford, Manchester.

Ukonu, 18, from Loughton, Essex was found guilty of manslaughter and Florant, 17, from Waltham Forest, was found guilty of murder – both at the Old Bailey.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Vandenbergh said: “Youth clubs are expected to be a place of safety, a sanctuary for young people to be themselves and develop their skills and talents.

“The two males who burst in, each armed with large knives, turned that on its head with their actions which were sadly witnessed by so many other people.

“This attack was premeditated and this death underlines the vile nature of knife crime and the pain and terror it inflicts on communities.

“I would like to pay tribute to Glendon’s family for the dignity with which they have carried themselves throughout proceedings.

“I would also like to thank the local community for their support and patience through the investigation.

“We endeavour to minimise the impact on witnesses following distressing incidents, but we have a duty to the victims and their families in situations such as this, to collect
evidence and investigate to the best of our abilities.

“I would also like to recognise the hard work and dedication of my
investigation team who have worked tirelessly to piece together witness statements, forensic evidence and hours of CCTV footage against
challenging timescales.”
Efforts to identify the driver of the BMW are ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on
020 8721 4961 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.