THE KILLERS of Emmanuel Lukenga have been sentenced to life for his murder at Warwick Crown Court today.
Enroy Ruddock, Matthew Brankin and Bradley Richardson were convicted of stabbing Lukenga as he tried to escape their pursuit in Tile Hill, Coventry.
Ruddock, aged 19 from Melbourne Road, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years.
Matthew Brankin, aged 19 of Thimbler Road, will spend a minimum of 19 years in prison, and Bradley Richardson, aged 23 from Prior Deram Walk, received a sentence of 22 years.
Enroy Ruddock, found guilty of murder
A 27 month concurrent sentence was handed to the trio for arson, along with Kyle Kinchin, who was accused of torching a car.
In mitigation for the defendants at the culmination of the six week trial, lawyers claimed the victim Manny Lukenga, had ‘provoked’ the rival gang by driving a red Astra in their ‘territory’, but the judge rejected this.
He gave leniency to Matthew Brankin on the grounds of his age and low intelligence.
But the trio were convicted of killing Lukenga by joint enterprise – it was found Brankin carried the ‘rambo-style’ knife, which Ruddock plunged 13 cm into Manny Lukenga’s buttock, fatally severing an artery.
Minimum terms of 25 years were handed to Ruddock, Brankin and Richardson as it was found they had intent to kill.
Caught on security footage, as Enroy rode pillion on a stolen motorbike he made a throat slitting gesture, and when Lukenga was chased on foot into a garden just minutes later, neighbours heard the shout of “someone’s gonna get poked.”
Outside the courtroom, there were shouts from the relations of the convicted men, as the controversial joint enterprise law was used to find all three culpable for Manny’s murder.
In a victim statement, Manny’s mother told how she came to Coventry with Emmanuel’s father Edward, escaping war in the Congo. Before his death, Manny had hopes of becoming a paramedic and had started studies to qualify. He leaves behind two children – Renée, 3 and baby Noah, who was born after Manny’s murder.
Following the sentencing, tributes were paid to the community of Gravel Hill, surrounding Franklin Grove, who gave first aid to Manny.
Police told how Manny had been involved in long standing feuds between rival estates in Canley and Tile Hill which escalated on June 12 2019. Manny and his friends had been seen in Canley and rivals took exception to this.
On a stolen motorbike, Kyle Kinchen and pillion passenger Enroy Ruddock − carrying a petrol can – set off along with Matthew Brankin and Bradley Richardson in a Berlingo van to seek retribution. They found the red Astra Manny had been seen driving in Milrose Way and set it alight.
Minutes later the van and the motorbike were still driving around Tile Hill when they spotted two of Manny’s friends, who ran into a local convenience store on Frisby Road. CCTV from the shop showed Richardson – the passenger in the Berlingo – carrying a large axe and Ruddock holding something behind his back. Unable to attack the two in the shop, they returned to their vehicles and drove off.
The van and the bike caught up with Manny and his friends again as they tried to escape down an alleyway between Tile Hill Lane and Gravel Hill. The Berlingo was seen driving down the alleyway, damaging the van and coming to a stop where passengers Ruddock and Richardson gave chase on foot.
Manny and his friends fled into gardens, as frightened residents looked on. Richardson axed down a gate and seconds later Ruddock caught up with Manny in Franklin Grove as he tried to climb a fence and stabbed him just once. The wound severed a vital artery and, although police and ambulance colleagues tried desperately to save him, he died at the scene.
Later the same day a Snapchat video was shared online by Ruddock, with his face covered by an emoji, bragging about how he had stabbed Manny after his friends had left him.
