Three men have today been jailed for the killing of a 19-year-old man who died from a single stab wound in an attack at a petrol station in Coventry.
Pavandeep Daudher suffered the fatal injury to his leg after being set on by the masked men armed with baseball bats and knives at the BP garage in Lockhurst Lane, Holbrooks, Coventry on the night of 31 March, 2020.
Jason Cornwall, 34, Riley Kavanagh, 20, Kane McCarron, 18, and Ethan Lilley, aged 24, all from Coventry, had denied taking part in the fatal attack. But following an eight-week trial that ended in October last year, they were all found guilty of manslaughter.
Today Cornwall, of Arundel Road, was jailed for 11 years, while Kavanagh, of Drake Street, and McCarron, of Portsea Close, were both jailed for nine years. During the trial the jury heard that the planned attack was in retaliation after Pavandeep’s friend Zaakir Challoner got into a row in the Cheylesmore area the day before which resulted in a brick being thrown at his silver Audi A3.
Our investigations found a threatening text was sent from Lilley’s phone to a friend of Zaakir saying: ‘One of your friends will end up in curtains’ which appears to have been triggered by vandalism at Lilley’s home in the early hours of 31 March.
At around 11pm later that day Zaakir was at the BP garage when a dark grey Ford Kuga on false plates arrived and a group of masked men got out. CCTV showed that they were armed with weapons including baseball bats, poles and knives.
They attacked Pavandeep, knocking him to the ground before grabbing a bag he was carrying and leaving him fatally wounded. Despite the best efforts of paramedics and hospital staff, the 19-year-old died just after midnight.
A post mortem concluded that Pavandeep, of Hen Lane, had died from a single stab wound to his left thigh. After fatally attacking Pavandeep, the men then chased after Zaakir, aged 21, in the Kuga and rammed his car in nearby Station Street East before smashing its windows with baseball bats.
Zaakir was robbed of his bag and jacket before being stabbed in his foot. The men left and the Kuga was later found burned out on grassland in the Willenhall area. Rigorous analysis of both CCTV footage from the area and mobile phone records linked the four men not only to each other but also showed they were in the Kuga on the day of the attack.
Lilley, Cornwall and McCarron were also convicted of robbery in relation to the attack on Zaakir. Kavanagh was found not guilty of the charge.
During a second connected trial in October, a fifth man, Callum Bowman, aged 30, of Humber Road, was found not guilty of manslaughter and robbery. He had denied the charges.
Two further men, Lucas Hutchinson and a second man, who can’t be named for legal reasons, were convicted of assisting an offender after they helped destroy and dispose of the stolen Kuga used in the fatal attack.
It was completely burned out but we found CCTV which showed how the two men were involved. Hutchinson, aged 19 of Strathmore Avenue, Stoke, Coventry was also today jailed for three years at Warwick Crown Court sitting at Leamington Justice Centre.
Detective Inspector Stuart Mobberley of Force CID, who led the investigation, said: “This vicious attack was sparked by an apparently low level dispute which spiralled into such violence that a mother has been robbed of her only child.
“Today our thoughts remain with her and the rest of Pavandeep’s family. I can only hope that this sentencing will bring some comfort at this difficult and upsetting time. “Knife crime and violence do not have a place in our communities and the consequences can be devastating, as they have been for Pavandeep’s family.
“And this investigation shows that we will not only pursue those people directly involved in knife crime, but also those who try to help them evade justice.”
