Five people have been locked up for a combined total of more than 60 years for the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old boy linked to a feud played out in online drill music videos.
Lyrico Steede was attacked in a culmination of a long-running dispute which escalated over a video made by Lyrico and his friends.
He was lured to a park by a girl before being chased by four young men, stabbed multiple times, and left seriously injured in Stock Well, Bulwell, on February 13. He died in hospital five days later.
The five teenagers who plotted the attack were caught after police tracked their movements using CCTV and phone records and pieced together forensic evidence alongside hundreds of witness statements.
They were sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (January 25) – two for murder and three for manslaughter – after being convicted in December.
Kasharn Campbell, 20, of no fixed address, was the ringleader and judge Mr Justice Nicholas Lavender said he was sure Campbell meant to kill Lyrico because he stabbed him so many times.
He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years for murder. After the 328 days already spent in custody on remand, it means it will be 20 years and 37 days before he is considered for release by the Parole Board.
Christian Jameson, 18, formerly of Kirkbride Court, Chilwell – described in court as Campbell’s “right hand man” – was sentenced to 17 years for murder. His 329 days on remand means he will serve a minimum of 16 years and 36 days.
He was also given a six-month concurrent sentence for an affray, regarding a separate incident in a park in Basford on May 6 2017 in which he chased and punched a 17-year-old who was also stabbed by another youth, who was sentenced separately.
Remmell Miller-Campbell, 18, formerly of Sneinton Boulevard, was locked up for nine years for manslaughter.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for manslaughter.
And the girl, aged 16, who also cannot be named, was given six years for manslaughter. These two younger people convicted of the attack will start their sentences in secure youth detention.
The court had earlier been told Lyrico had featured in the background of a drill music video which made fun of Campbell, Jameson and Miller-Campbell by calling them “Athlete Gang” after running away from a confrontation.
Within days of the fatal attack on Lyrico, Campbell and Jameson appeared in their own drill music video which was posted on YouTube, in which Campbell rapped about carrying out violence with striking similarity to the attack on Lyrico and including the line “Anyone screaming Athlete Gang gonna get Ramboed up” (meaning stabbed).
Before delivering the sentences to the five defendants, Mr Justice Lavender said: “Your actions did not just end Lyrico Steede’s life. They brought misery to his parents and grief to all of his friends.
“His mother has made a very moving statement. She says that she has never experienced such devastating pain. What you have inflicted on her is, she had said, a mother’s worst nightmare.”
Mr Justice Lavender gave a commendation to a number of officers who were involved in the investigation, including Detective Chief Inspector Hayley Williams, Detective Sergeant Rob Wells and Detective Constable Chris Berryman.
Speaking after the sentencing, Det Chief Insp Williams, senior investigating officer, said: “For Lyrico’s family, nothing will make up for his tragic loss at the age of just 17. He has lost his life and his family have lost their whole futures with him because he was involved in a petty dispute which his rivals decided to settle with knives.
“That decision has cost them their futures too because they have all lost their liberty for significant times today and will have Lyrico’s death on their records and hopefully their consciences.
“I’d really like to talk directly to young people across Nottinghamshire now and appeal to them to take note of what has happened today. If you carry a knife it is all too easy for you to be in this position, either as a victim or an offender. Disputes come and go but lives cannot be replaced – so please don’t carry a knife.”
Nottingham City Council Leader, Councillor Jon Collins, said: “This is a case which shows all too clearly and tragically the devastating impact that young people carrying knives can have. The act of carrying knives inevitably increases the chances of something quite trivial potentially becoming serious, dangerous and possibly fatal.
“When that happens, it not only takes away the lives of victims, but also has a far-reaching impact on the lives of their family and friends, as well as on the perpetrators and their family and friends, and the wider community.
“We remain fully committed to standing with our communities and partners against knife crime in Nottingham, supporting the police in their efforts to tackle the issue and providing support to those who need it.
“The Government needs to urgently take action to introduce mandatory prison sentences for carrying and using knives, to try and prevent young people from ending up in tragic situations like this.”
