A man has been convicted of murdering 23-year-old business student Russell Jordan Jones in Enfield six years ago following a retrial.
Mr Jones had been standing on a street corner talking to friends after going out for dinner, when he was ambushed by four masked men brandishing knives and a 12-bore shotgun.
Kyle Gordon, now 24, from Enfield, was previously tried for Mr Jones’ murder at the Old Bailey on June 14, but the jury failed to reach a verdict.
But after a retrial at the same court, he was convicted of the murder on Monday.
He was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to a second victim and possession of a firearm.
The court heard how in the early hours of March 17, 2018, victim Mr Jones and several friends were on South Street in Enfield, when they were approached by a group of men wearing dark clothing and masks covering their faces.
The group launched a “ferocious” attack on Mr Jones and a friend of his “out of nowhere”, said police.
Mr Jones fled for his life but stumbled but was shot and then stabbed 12 times in a “merciless” attack. One of his friends was also knifed in the back but survived.
Paramedics fought to save Mr Jones, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives used CCTV footage and data from the suspects’ mobile phones to identify and build a case against them.
The killers are said to have spent an hour driving around the area looking for potential targets, before launching their attack.
Mr Jones and his friends were not associated with gangs and are believed to have been “picked on at random” by the killers who wrongly believed they were rivals simply because they were standing together on a street corner.
Gordon will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday.
Two others already convicted of the murder in January 2019 were handed 29-year sentences.
A third man convicted on June 14 last year was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 25 years.
At the 2019 sentencing, Mr Jones’ mother, Stephanie Saunders, said she believed unanswered questions about her son’s murder will “haunt me forever”.
“I would give my life in a heartbeat for Russell to have his back. Every day is pure torture”, she told the Old Bailey. “This is just the beginning of a life-long sentence, I will never be free from the pain and grief.”She told the court her son was months away from completing a business management degree at the University of Hertfordshire and it was awarded posthumously following his murder.
Detective Sergeant Joanne Donoghue, from the Met's Specialist Crime North Homicide Team, said in a statement on Monday: "On a freezing cold night in March 2018, Kyle Gordon 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, shocked even the most seasoned of homicide detectives.”
DS Donoghue added: "Russell's family has endured years of court proceedings with patience and dignity.
“I hope they find comfort in today's conviction and in knowing that those responsible for Russell's death have been held to account."
