Russell was shot and stabbed to death in South Street in 2018 after being mistaken for a member of a gang

Sherome Williams (inset, left) is the third man convicted of murdering Russell Jones (inset, right) in South Street in 2018

A man convicted of murdering a 23-year-old in Enfield has been jailed for 25 years.

Victim Russell Jordan Jones was chatting to friends on a street corner when he was shot and stabbed at random by a group of men who wrongly suspected him to be a member of a rival gang.

Sherome Williams, aged 21 of Woodlands Road, Enfield, was convicted of Russell’s murder following a trial at the Old Bailey last month. He was sentenced at the same court last week to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 25 years in custody.

Two other men – Bilkan Bilkaner of Dartford Avenue, Ponders End, and Duke Quianoo, of Holbrook Close, Forty Hill – were found guilty in 2019 of the murder of Russell Jones, with both handed 29-year sentences.

The court heard that in the early hours of 17th March 2018, Russell and several friends were in South Street, Ponders End, when they were approached by a group of men wearing dark clothing and masks covering their faces.

Out of nowhere, the group launched a ferocious attack on Russell and a second man, shooting Russell who fell into the road and was set upon by the group who stabbed him several times. One of his friends also suffered stab injuries.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Russell was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives launched an immediate investigation to identity the suspects, a complex task involving an analysis of hours of CCTV footage which was then carefully corroborated with mobile phone use by the suspects.

Detective Sergeant Joanne Donoghue said: “On a freezing cold night in March 2018, Williams and others armed themselves with a sawn off shotgun and knives before setting out in search of opposing gang members. The group they chose were not in a gang, they were simply a group of young men chatting outside a shop.

“The wickedness and ferocity of the attack, which was captured on CCTV, has shocked even the most seasoned of homicide detectives.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.