A British Cypriot, Demetrios Kyriacou, 35, was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in killing a 22-year-old man in July 2020 in a robbery revenge London gang shooting that went wrong.
Kyriacou had been found guilty of murder in May this year after the case went to trial.
The Cypriot was found guilty of organising the revenge gang shooting and sentenced this week to serve a minimum of 31 years by the Old Bailey.
Another four men were convicted for their involvement.
Nathaniel Reece was sentenced to 32 years and two months in prison for pulling the trigger.
Another two men, Matthew Hardy and Darren Dredge were handed 7.5 and 8.5-year sentences for their involvement.
A fourth man, James Nicholson, who disposed of the weapon after the incident, will be sentenced later.
The incident occurred on 4 July 2020, when Kyriacou took it upon himself to find the perpetrators of a robbery of which he was a victim.
Kyriacou had reportedly refused police assistance when he reported the case, taking it upon himself to seek revenge with the help of three other men.
The revenge gang shooting went wrong, with an innocent 22-year-old, Imani Allaway-Muir, being shot dead after being hit by four of the 14 rounds fired at him in an Islington street.
“Mr Allaway-Muir was in ‘the wrong place, at the wrong time,” Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, was quoted by the Daily Mail.
“Imani was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him… he was tragically killed in a horrific act of violence that took place in broad daylight just metres away from a children’s playground and a football pitch which was full of children,” he added.
Robbery
According to the Metropolitan Police, on 4 July 2020, Kyriacou was robbed by four unknown men on Carville Street.
The assailants had stolen cash, his Rolex, and his iPhone, while the attack left him with a head injury.
Following the robbery, Kyriacou invited two men, James Nicholson and Nathaniel Reece, to his house, and they looked for ways to trace the stolen goods.
Using the ‘find my iPhone’ app, they found the location, went to the area and set up an ambush.
Nathaniel Reece shot the 22-year-old when they spotted him arriving at the scene and immediately left.
When the police and the ambulance arrived, the 22-year-old was still alive. Despite efforts to keep him alive, Muir died approximately 30 minutes after being shot.
Officers searched the area and found 14 shell casings, an iPhone, two Nokia mobile phones and a broken SIM card.
The phones and SIM card belonged to Kyriacou and were part of the property stolen in the robbery.
However, detectives later determined that Imani had not been involved in the robbery reported by Kyriacou.
He just happened to be at the location of the stolen property moments when the Cypriot and his associates showed up.
“I don’t know how to express the pain I am feeling to all of you who have taken my life.
“Now, every time I close my eyes, all I see is my son’s lifeless body covered in blood,” the victim’s father said in court.
