London:
A teenager of Indian descent who stabbed two people during an altercation between friends outside a bar in central England has been found guilty of double murder and faces life imprisonment in a hearing next month.
Amrit Jhagra, 19, denied murder and said he acted in self-defense but was convicted by a jury at the end of a trial at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday.
The victims were named Janis Kozlovskis, 17, and Ryan Theobald, 20, who were involved in an altercation outside the bar in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in January.
“I would like to extend my condolences to the families and friends of both Ryan and Janis as this procedure will undoubtedly have been both difficult and distressing for them,” said Chief Inspector (DCI) Lee Townley of South Yorkshire Police.
“During this trial, the defendant alleged that he acted in self-defense from his friend, but Jhagra went out that night in possession of a knife and he used it to stab not just one but two people. This case lies the heartbreaking exposing the implications of knife crime, and I’m glad the jury saw through Jhagra’s lies and he will now have to spend a long time behind bars,” he said.
According to the police, the two victims left the bar where they had been sitting with friends and once outside a fight broke out between Kozlovskis and a friend of Jhagra. A few minutes later, Theobald found himself in the middle of the altercation and CCTV footage later shows that he was approached by Jhagra, who stabbed him and left him in the street.
“As Janis ran down the street, he was chased by Jhagra, who pulled him to the ground and stabbed him several times before fleeing,” said DCI Townley.
Emergency services were called by members of the public, but despite efforts by officers and paramedics, Theobald was pronounced dead at the scene and Kozlovskis died in hospital a short time later.
A postmortem examination revealed that the former died from a single stab wound and the latter from multiple stab wounds.
A murder investigation was launched shortly after, and police investigations revealed that Jhagra fled to a nearby hotel after the incident, before traveling by taxi to a friend’s house and fleeing.
A few days after the incident, he turned himself in to the police and was arrested on suspicion of both murders. He was further arrested for possession of an offensive weapon and charged with all three offenses on February 3.
He was on trial at Sheffield Crown Court last week and after four hours of deliberation, a jury found him guilty of all three charges. He will appear again before Sheffield Crown Court on August 18 for sentencing.
“While this provides some form of closure and we know the defendant will spend many years in prison, we will never recover from the loss of Janis,” Janis Kozlovskis’ sister said in a police statement.
“Ryan had previously told me that he was afraid of knives. He knew locally others who were victims of knife crime. I would beg those who carry knives or knives, for whatever reason, please don’t. son, brother, lover, friend. I wouldn’t wish what we are going through on another family,” Ryan Theobald’s mother said in her statement.
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