Teenage thug Darrell Desuze, who killed pensioner during London riots, jailed for eight years

Mother also jailed for perverting the course of justice
Guilty plea: Darrel Desuze admitted manslaughter
17 April 2012
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The teenager who killed pensioner Richard Mannington Bowes during the summer riots was jailed for eight years today.

Darrell Desuze, 17, punched the elderly man to the ground as disturbances swept the country on August 8 last year.

Mr Bowes, who had been trying to put out a fire in a dustbin near his home in Ealing, west London, suffered brain damage and died three days later in hospital.

Desuze's mother Lavinia was jailed for 18 months at the same court today for perverting the course of justice by cutting up his clothes.

Desuze, who could be named after an order banning his identification was lifted by a judge, admitted manslaughter last month.

Mr Justice Saunders said he took into account the teenager's previous guilty pleas to violent disorder and burglary at William Hill, Tesco Express, Blockbusters and Fatboys Thai restaurant on August 8, when passing sentence.

The judge said Desuze "played a full part in the violence" and could be seen on CCTV smashing windows, looting shops, throwing missiles at police and wheeling rubbish bins into the street so they could be set on fire.

He said most people were afraid to go out, and those caught up in the violence would have been "terrified".

"One person who was not terrified to be out and was not prepared to be forced off the streets was Richard Mannington Bowes."

He said CCTV showed the pensioner moving among the riots and trying to prevent fires started in the bins from spreading.

"The death of Mr Bowes was pointless and unnecessary and it became for the public one of the most, if not the most, shocking event of the riots in London," he said.

Desuze - who once enjoyed a school trip to the Metropolitan Police's riot training centre in Gravesend, Kent, where he watched a simulated riot with officers pelted with bricks - was caught on camera kicking in the glass doors of a shopping centre before joining a mob that attacked heavily outnumbered police with missiles around Spring Bridge Road.

Wearing sunglasses and a distinctive top saying "Robbers and Villains", he threw his full weight behind a punch to Mr Bowes's jaw, buckling his legs and knocking him unconscious.

The pensioner fell backwards on to the pavement and his head took the full force of impact on the road.

Prosecutors said police were "simply unable to reach Mr Bowes for some minutes because of the violence against them".

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Mannington Bowes' sister Anne Wilderspin, who was in court today, said she forgave Desuze - repeating what she said just after her brother's death.

"Richard was my only brother and although I have been separated from him for many years, I had always hoped to be reconciled with him again," she said.

"When I heard that he had been injured in the Ealing riots, I was hoping that my long-held desire to see and talk to him was being fulfilled."

She said she was disappointed when she arrived at hospital in Paddington to find he had not regained consciousness and was on a life-support machine.

"I was completely devastated that I had found my brother and lost him again on the same day," she said.

But she said she was concerned for the accused and felt compassion for him.

"He has potentially ruined his life and will find it difficult to make an honest living in the future."

She said he had committed a "terrible crime" but added: "I do forgive him and, as a committed Christian, pray to the Lord Jesus that he will turn over a new leaf.

"Both my husband and I hope that in this case justice will be tempered with mercy."

She said she hoped the teenager would be rehabilitated in a "loving environment and find a new purpose in life".

Desuze's mother Lavinia was jailed for 18 months for destroying and disposing of the distinctive clothing her son wore on August 8.

The judge said that on August 13 she cut up the clothing and took them at midnight to two litter bins.

She later admitted to police what she had done, the court heard.

"I do feel, as most people would, some sympathy for Lavinia Desuze," the judge said.

"On the jury's verdict, even though she committed a very serious offence, she did so to protect her young son to whom she had given birth when she was only 14 and who she had looked after as a single mother for most of his life...

"I accept that the instinct of a mother to protect her child is a very powerful one."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in