A teenager has been jailed for at least 22 years after fatally stabbing his neighbour – a bike enthusiast – in the chest.
Sanchez Tate, 18, attacked his 21-year-old neighbour Mohamed Abdi Noor on 11 December last year in Tufnell Park Road in Kentish Town, north London.
During a trial at the Old Bailey, the court heard Tate stabbed Mr Abdi Noor in the chest before running home. He was arrested shortly after.
Prosecutor Catherine Pattison said that “before he lost consciousness, Mr Abdi Noor said ‘Sanchez’ and repeated it – meaning the name of the person who had stabbed him”.
The 21-year-old – who the prosecutor said had a “passion for pedal cycles and motorbikes” – was taken to hospital where he died early the next morning.
Ms Pattison then told jurors: “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.”
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She also noted Mr Abdi Noor had told his wife of an earlier incident allegedly involving Tate, when he had seen his motorbike on the ground in his estate parking lot.
The prosecutor said he asked some teenagers who had knocked it over and they pointed to Tate, before adding: “Mr Abdi Noor told Mr Tate that he needed to pay for the damage – a scratch and some parts were damaged.
“Nothing else appeared to come of it. As it happened, Mr Abdi Noor took his motorbike to be repaired.
“The damage to the motorbike was still being repaired on the date Mr Abdi Noor died.”
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Tate claimed he had acted in self-defence. He was found guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey on Thursday.
Judge Mark Dennis KC ordered him to be jailed for 22 years. Tate was also handed a concurrent sentence of 15 months for possessing a blade in a public place.
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Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith, who led the Scotland Yard investigation into the incident, said his thoughts were “with Mohamed’s family and those who knew him, who have lost a dearly loved family member and friend”.
He added: “I am also mindful that there are no winners in this case and Tate, who was 17 years of age at the time, will have a good deal of time in prison to reflect on the callous stupidity of his actions.”
