Third man convicted in connection with the death of Colin Browne in London, England

A third man has been convicted for his involvement in the death of Colin Browne on the Grange Estate, Finchley in April 2006.

John-Paul Oboh, 25, of Garden House, Central Avenue, East Finchley was today (30 July) at the Old Bailey, found guilty of manslaughter on Colin Browne and two counts of assault in relation to an earlier incident on 8 April.

He was sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter and three years for each count of assault (to run concurrently) adding up to a total of 14 years imprisonment.

DI Mark Brookes of Trident said:

"Today’s conviction shows the officers determination to bring the people responsible for Colin’s death to justice. We work closely with the families and communities affected by gun crime and with their help and our expertise, and by using special measures at court to ensure witnesses anonymity, we can put the people responsible in prison."

The court heard that police were called at 20:17hrs on 12 April 2006 to the Grange Estate to reports of a man suffering from numerous injuries.

London Ambulance Service attended but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. He was Colin Browne of Leyton E10.

A post-mortem showed he had suffered several stab wounds, and a gunshot wound – it could not be determined which specifically had caused his death.

Investigating officers from Trident discovered that prior to the murder there had been two disputes between the brother of Colin Browne’s ex-girlfriend and a group of men.

The disputes had resulted from minor incidents that had been perceived by the group to show disrespect towards them and as a consequence the brother, Desmond Charles, and his girlfriend had been assaulted on 8 April. Following that incident, on 12 April a further friend was assaulted in East Finchley, he was badly beaten and suffered head injuries which required hospital treatment.

Following the second incident Colin Browne was contacted by his ex-girlfriend and told that her brother and his friends were having problems with a group of men. Colin Browne subsequently attended the area to seek out the men and was killed in a confrontation with them.

On 13 April 2006 Aaron Gordon, 23, was arrested and charged, and was later convicted of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey in March 2007. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation to serve a minimum of 30 years and a further 10 years for possession of a firearm with intent, to run concurrently. This sentence was later reduced on appeal.

On 15 April 2006 Lamont Emesibe, 23, was arrested and charged, and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter at the same trial. He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. This sentence was later reduced on appeal.

A further man was sentenced to five years imprisonment after pleading guilty prior to the trial to GBH with intent relating to the incident on the 12 April.

Following the murder John-Paul Oboh left the country on a false passport. Officers issued a warrant for his arrest and he surrendered himself to the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, Nigeria, on 23 September. He voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom on 29 September where he was arrested and charged on arrival.