UK judge hands teen 8 year sentence for killing man during London riots

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LONDON – A British judge on Tuesday jailed a teenager for eight years for killing a 68-year-old man during the riots that swept the country in August.

Darrell Desuze, 17, had admitted to manslaughter in the death of Richard Bowes, who was found lying in a street during violence in west London on Aug. 8. Bowes — seen on CCTV footage being punched and falling to the pavement after he tried to stamp out a fire set by rioters — died of head injuries three days later.

Desuze also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and four counts of burglary.

In delivering the sentence, Justice John Saunders decried Bowes’s death as “pointless and unnecessary,” saying it became one of the most shocking events of the riots.

Desuze’s mother, Lavinia, was also sentenced on Tuesday for perverting the course of justice. She received an 18 month sentence for cutting up and disposing of the clothes her son wore on the day, which were seen on the CCTV footage of the attack.

Riots erupted Aug. 6 in north London and flared for four nights across the capital and other English cities as street gangs and looters trashed shops and vehicles.

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