Two males jailed for homicide of Good Samaritan
Two males who stabbed a “Good Samaritan” to dying after he tried to cease them from assaulting a teenage woman have been jailed for all times for his homicide. Reece Radford, 26, was knifed within the chest as he intervened after seeing the 17-year-old being attacked in Sheffield metropolis centre on September 29 final yr. He died six days later.
On Thursday, Dereck Owusu, 40, of Strathmore Grove, Rotherham; and Louis James, 46, of Manor Lane, Sheffield, have been handed life phrases and informed they need to serve a minimal of 15 years and 25 years in jail respectively, South Yorkshire Police confirmed. Both have been convicted of homicide final month.
In an announcement learn out in Sheffield Crown Court, Mr Radford’s mom, Laura Radford, mentioned: “It was not just my son who was killed that night, my family was killed, my heart is broken.
“Reece was the life and soul of this household. He would gentle a room up as quickly as he got here in. He wasn’t simply my son, he was my greatest good friend, my soulmate, my all the pieces.
“It is killing me knowing I am never going to see his big brown eyes, never going to hear his laugh or see him grow into the best daddy ever. That has been taken away from us.”
Ms Radford added: “Our hearts will never heal from the loss of Reece – he was special and loved beyond life. We will all miss him forever.”
Officers mentioned that Owusu and James have been on Arundel Gate in Sheffield, simply earlier than 1am, after they bumped right into a teenage woman they knew.
They shared some alcohol earlier than a violent altercation occurred, with Owusu punching the 17-year-old woman within the face.
Mr Radford witnessed this and officers mentioned he acted as a “Good Samaritan” by stepping in to assist {the teenager}, punching Owusu within the face as a combat broke out between him and the defendants.
Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Hodgman mentioned: “The three ended up in the road, and Reece fell to the floor where he was subjected to a barrage of kicks from both men.
“Then the assault abruptly ended. Reece crossed the street and collapsed on the opposite aspect. He had been stabbed within the chest.
“While Reece was lying critically injured on the floor, Owusu approached again swirling his belt in the air, before striking it at a friend of Reece, who was on the phone to the ambulance. The men then fled the scene a second time.”
Ms Hodgman mentioned: “Reece’s family have been left devastated by his death, and I want to once again offer my sincere condolences to them.
“I hope the sentences handed to Owusu and James in the present day will go some method to serving to them begin to rebuild their lives.”