Three sentenced to 63 years for Rhamero West murder

Ryan Cashin 19, Giovanni Lawrence 20 and Marquis Richards 17 have been sentenced to a total of 63 years for murdering 16-year-old Rhamero West.

Rhamero West was with four of his friends, driving a BMW around Manchester on the afternoon of the 9th of September 2021. Around 5:45pm, Rhamero West was on Princess Parkway, stopped in traffic, when a number of males were seen to get out of two BMW vehicles and run towards the car Mr West was driving.

Marquis Richards approached Mr West, who was in the driver’s seat, and appeared to be lunging and banging towards the car several times with a large knife in his hand. The prosecution case was that Richards was in fact stabbing West through the window.

In an effort to get away, Mr West forced the car he was driving in between cars in front of him. The males then ran back to the vehicles they were travelling in and gave chase.

Mr West drove left onto Moss Lane East, continuing into Moss Lane West and then across a junction onto Upper Chorlton Road. No doubt frightened by this point, Mr West drove too fast and in an erratic manner. He crashed into a vehicle on Upper Chorlton Road and then hit a tree. Mr West and his friends ran from the vehicle.

Richards chased Mr West and his friends on foot, whilst brandishing a large knife. Cashin then caught up to Richards and the knife was passed to him. The two cars containing the rest of the males, including Lawrence, followed the chase.

Mr West began banging on doors for help on Norton Street, but Cashin caught up with him and stabbed him several times, including the fatal knife wound to Mr West’s leg. Cashin then headed back to the car and left the scene.

Neighbours called for medical assistance and tried to help Mr West. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff at the scene and again at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Mr West was pronounced dead at 7.36pm.

The prosecution case was that the murder of Mr West was a joint enterprise by all the males, who demonstrated a shared intention to cause Mr West really serious harm or death.

The three men pleaded not guilty to murder. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worked closely with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case. Evidence was produced at trial including eyewitness testimony, extensive CCTV, DNA evidence and mobile phone location evidence, showing where the mobile phones of the males were during the incident.

The jury found the three men guilty of murder following the trial at Manchester Crown Court. A further male was acquitted.

Ryan Cashin was sentenced to detention for life, with a minimum of 24 years, Giovanni Lawrence was sentenced to detention for life with a minimum of 21 years and Marquis Richards was sentenced to detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure with minimum term of 18 years.

Lisa Connor, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West said: “Rhamero West was just 16 years old when he lost his life in this shocking knife attack. The men who have been convicted of his murder pursued him relentlessly and gave him no chance to escape or defend himself.

“This was a complex case to prosecute, we used the phone location data, CCTV footage and forensic evidence to pinpoint where each person was at the specific points in time. This enabled us to put a strong case before the Court and provide the jury with the evidence they needed to convict.

“Nothing can make up for the loss of Rhamero, I can only hope Rhamero’s family can find some comfort in knowing that those who carried out this attack have been brought to justice.”