Man jailed for stabbing teenager in the face (From This Is Local London)

Greenwich man jailed for stabbing teenager in the face in Erith

2:48pm Monday 6th February 2012 in Where I Live By Nina Massey

Vincent Olalekan Fadairo

A GREENWICH man has been jailed for repeatedly stabbing a teenager in the face.

Vincent Olalekan Fadairo, aged 20, of Shaw Close was found guilty of GBH with intent after stabbing his victim in the face during an unprovoked attack.

He was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment after a two week trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

At around 12.30pm on May 12 last year, the 18-year-old victim was with friends as they prepared to return to college after their lunch break.

He was approached by Fadairo on Manor Way, Erith and a heated argument took place.

Moments later Fadairo pinned his victim against a wall and repeatedly stabbed him with a knife.

On arrival police and paramedics found a young man with what appeared to be stab wounds to the face and hands.

The victim, who suffered a seven centimetre stab wound just below his left eye and cuts to his hands, was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.

Initially the only lead was a street name and through intelligence work and cross references from a photograph on a witness's mobile phone, a social networking site and intelligence reports from another borough, Vincent Fadairo was identified by the Bexley Serious and Violent Crimes Unit as the suspect for the offence and his details were circulated for his arrest.

He was arrested at an address in Bedfordshire on June 22 last year and taken to Bexleyheath police station.

Bexley Serious and Violent Crime Unit’s Acting Detective Chief Inspector Steve Underwood said: "This was a difficult case in view of the obstacles that the investigating officers had to overcome but they were determined to see a violent gang member prosecuted and imprisoned."

From the beginning of the investigation witnesses expressed concern about assisting police and providing evidence. The ferocity of the attack, level of violence used and the known gang connections of the suspect weighed heavily on their minds.

DCI Underwood added: "The witnesses to this violent incident showed immense courage, in the face of intimidation and threats from gang members, to stand up for what is right and do their part to remove violent people from the streets of London".

Police applied through the Crown Prosecution Service to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Witness Anonymity Applications that allowed two main witnesses to give evidence in court from behind screens and with their voices disguised.

A number of gang members were in court when the trial started on December 5 last year and when they started making hand gestures designed to intimidate, the Judge ordered the public gallery be cleared.