A life sentence has been given to a teenager who murdered a man in Ashford, following an investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.
Jaydon McFarlane died after he was stabbed by Osita Alagbaoso in Arlington, near Brockfield Road, shortly before 12.30pm on Saturday 14th March 2020.
Alagbaoso was arrested the same day and was found guilty of murder following a trial on Wednesday 28th April 2021.
The 18-year-old, formerly of Hoppers Way, Ashford, previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent in relation to an earlier assault against another victim on Saturday 25th January 2020.
At Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday 23rd November 2021, Alagbaoso was given a life sentence and ordered to serve at least 20 years.
The murder was the result of a rivalry between two gangs in Ashford, whose members had engaged in a series of violent incidents in the weeks before the killing.
A police investigation traced the hostility back to a dispute between the victim and an associate of Alagbaoso called Joseph Matimba, in January 2020. This led to a series of messages being sent between Alagbaoso and the victim.
Alagbaoso is a dangerous man who seemingly had no qualms about turning threats sent on social media into acts of serious and fatal violence
Alagbaoso then stabbed another man in Ashford’s Memorial Gardens on Saturday 25th January 2020, leaving him with leg injuries.
Ten days later, there was a confrontation in Ashford’s County Square, when members of the rival groups reportedly chased each other with knives.
Further messages were exchanged between the two groups before Alagbaoso fatally stabbed 19-year-old Jaydon McFarlane and chased him along Arlington, where he later died.
After the attack, Alagbaoso and Matimba exchanged clothes in the toilets of a local takeaway, before disposing of the clothing he had been wearing and hiding the knives he used to carry out the attack.
Alagbaoso and Matimba were then both driven to Canterbury by a third man, Hassan Tejan. Kent Police linked Tejan’s car to the offence and he was stopped by armed police on his way back to Ashford and arrested.
Police found fragments of the knife used at the scene of the attack and two knives beneath Victoria Road bridge. Alagbaoso and Matimba were arrested and Alagbaoso’s DNA was found on two of the weapons.
Matimba, who is now 19, previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was given an 18-month sentence on Tuesday 23rd November.
Tejan, 25, of Beaver Green, Ashford, was convicted of perverting the course of justice on Wednesday 28 April 2021 and was jailed for one year on Tuesday 23rd November.
