Four teenagers who killed a 16-year-old boy during a dispute between two gangs have been sentenced to detention for manslaughter – with two of them being publicly named for the first time.
Ramarni Crosby was stabbed to death after being confronted by youths armed with a machete, a meat cleaver and knives in Gloucester in December 2021.
Levi Cameron, 19, and Callum Charles-Quebella, 18, along with 16-year-olds Shai Howes and Oisin Barrett, were part of a gang that attacked Ramarni but they did not inflict the fatal blows.
CCTV footage taken from properties in the Barton area of the city shows Ramarni and his four friends running away but the teenager then slowed and collapsed in Stratton Road, where he died a short time later.
Cameron, Howes and Barrett were found guilty of manslaughter and Charles-Quebella had previously admitted the killing.
The four were all acquitted of murder by a jury at Bristol Crown Court.
The court heard the build-up and aftermath of the attack was captured on CCTV cameras on nearby houses but there was no footage of the stabbing itself.
Ramarni was not a statistic, and he was a young man who was greatly loved by his friends and family. In your senseless attack you took that all away from him and all those that loved him – they will never get over his loss— Mrs Justice Cutts
The court heard the defendants were part of a gang called GL1 and would wear purple bandanas as a sign of membership.
There was an ongoing rivalry with members of Ramarni’s group.
Ramarni, who was unarmed, punched one of the GL1 gang before he was set upon by “ferocious animals” and stabbed several times.
Cameron, Howes and Barrett then fled the scene and got a taxi to a nearby house where CCTV cameras showed them acting out the incident – with their arms held up and moving downwards in stabbing motions.
They were then seen to “celebrate” after being told Ramarni had died – with Cameron “jumping for joy”.
Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Cutts said the impact of Ramarni’s death on many lives was “immeasurable”.
“The evidence I heard during the course of this trial of young men and children carrying knives in Gloucester was chilling,” she said.
“Nothing that happened before remotely justifies your group arming themselves that day.
“Never before is there a clearer example of the danger of carrying knives than this case and the death of this young boy.
“Ramarni did not have any weapons and he threw a punch, and it was that single punch that resulted in some of you acting like ferocious animals to set upon him.
“It is not possible to say who struck the fatal blow.”
Losing Ramarni made me feel like I had let him down. Why was he there that night? The argument was not his argument, and he paid the ultimate price— Grandmother Viv Clifford
Referring to Cameron, Howes and Barrett’s responses seen on CCTV, the judge said: “It is quite simply disgusting and horrifying that this young boy’s death was a feature of such celebration.
“There is nothing that Ramarni did that remotely justifies your actions.
“He far from deserved what happened to him. It is your responsibility that he died.
“Ramarni was not a statistic, and he was a young man who was greatly loved by his friends and family.
“In your senseless attack you took that all away from him and all those that loved him – they will never get over his loss.
“His family, his friends and the people of Gloucester are doing what they can to raise awareness of knife crime.”
The judge ruled both Cameron and Charles-Quebella were “dangerous” and imposed extended sentences of detention.
Cameron, who was armed with a machete, received a 15-and-a-half-year sentence comprising of 12-and-a-half-years’ detention and an extended three-year licence period.
Charles-Quebella, who was “right in the forefront of the attack” armed with a meat cleaver, was given an 11-and-a-half-year sentence comprising of eight-and-a-half-years’ detention and an extended three-year licence period.
Howes, who was not carrying a weapon, was sentenced to eight years and nine months’ detention while Barrett received a seven-and-a-half-year sentence.
Mrs Justice Cutts criticised Barrett, who was also unarmed, for “writing nasty drill lyrics glorifying the death of Ramarni”, referring to a sub-genre of rap music popular with gangs.
They will all serve two-thirds of their custodial sentences before they can apply for parole.
Ramarni, from Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, was at college training to be an electrician.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, his grandmother Viv Clifford said she did not want her grandson’s death to be another knife crime statistic.
“He was a real person. Watching Ramarni grow up in a small village was a joy,” she said.
“He passed six GCSEs and was at college training to be an electrician. Then our world imploded when Ramarni was killed.
“Losing Ramarni made me feel like I had let him down. Why was he there that night? The argument was not his argument, and he paid the ultimate price.
“I feel like I will never be truly happy again and there will be a Ramarni sized hole in my family.”
Four other defendants, Dean Smith, 20, and three 17-year-olds who cannot be named for legal reasons, were all found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
A ninth defendant, Keishaleigh Margrett-Whitter, 20, was acquitted of two charges of assisting an offender.
