Little Harrowden killers jailed for nearly 40 years

The three Wellingborough men found guilty of killing Stevie Pentelow in Little Harrowden have been sentenced to 39 years and five months in prison between them.

Sifean Ghilani, 20, of Winstanley Road, Wellingborough; Tristan Patel, 18, of Newcomen Road, Wellingborough; Levar Thomas, 21, of Knox Road, Wellingborough were all found guilty of conspiracy to rob and manslaughter at the end of their trial last month.

They were sentenced by Judge Rupert Mayo at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, April 23) in a virtual hearing held via videolink which was delayed by technical issues.

Sifean Ghilani accepted during the trial that he was the one who fatally stabbed Mr Pentelow but denied it was his knife. He was jailed for 12 years and four months for Mr Pentelow's manslaughter. He also received six years for conspiracy to rob and three years and nine months for supplying Class A drugs to be served concurrently.

Levar Thomas, who drove the group to the scene, was sentenced to 11 years and three months for manslaughter. He will concurrently serve five-and-a-half years imprisonment for conspiracy to rob.

Ghilani and Thomas were also sentenced for charges from Swansea Crown Court after being involved in a county lines offence in South Wales. They received two years each for possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

They will serve this on top of their manslaughter sentence, bringing their total sentences to 14 years and six months for Ghilani and 13 years three months for Thomas.

Tristan Patel, who Judge Mayo said was recruited to support Ghilani, was sentenced to 11 years and six months for his part in the manslaughter and will concurrently serve six years for conspiracy to rob and four years and two months for supplying Class A drugs.

Patel was also sentenced for a charge from Birmingham and received two months for possession of a prohibited article in prison, a mobile phone. This brings his total sentence to 11 years and eight months.

All three had been acquitted of murder by the jury after deliberations lasting a week.

Stevie Pentelow was killed by a single stab wound inflicted by Ghilani in Little Harrowden on June 21, 2019 in an attack that lasted just seconds.

Ghilani had arranged to buy drugs from Stevie Pentelow through Sophie Hughes, a friend of drug user and friend of Mr Pentelow, in a deal almost identical to one that had taken place in the same lay by on Main Street in Little Harrowden in January that year.

Thomas had been at the January deal and drove the group to the June deal in his black Peugeot.

They also collected Sophie Hughes, but the group stopped in Denford for around 20 minutes before collecting her.

Judge Mayo said in his sentencing remarks that he was satisfied the group planned their ambush of Pentelow during this stop.

Once the group arrived in Little Harrowden, Hughes got out of the car to meet Pentelow and they approached the vehicle together.

CCTV played to the jury showed that Pentelow was attacked with no warning in a rapid ambush. Pentelow was fatally wounded by a single stab through the heart inflicted by Ghilani.

Both Patel and Ghilani have previous convictions for carrying weapons and witnesses had described seeing both men with knives. The two men denied being armed that day.

At trial, Ghilani said the knife had been on the floor and Pentelow was stabbed by accident.

Pentelow was seen on CCTV staggering away from the group and two figures identified as Patel and Ghilani were seen pursuing him before running back towards the car where Levar Thomas then drove the group away at speed.

Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Joe Banfield, said: “I am pleased with the sentences handed out to this trio yesterday though of course, no sentence will ever make up for the loss of a life.

“No one is making excuses for Stevie’s lifestyle or how he chose to make his money but he absolutely did not deserve to die and my thoughts are with his family as they continue to grieve his death.

“Stevie would still be alive today if two men had chosen not to carry a knife that fateful day in June and I really hope this case demonstrates the true consequences of choosing to arm yourself – a man in his 40s is dead and three young men are now in prison for a total of more than 39 years.

“Finally, I would like to again thank my team of Major Crime detectives and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit who worked tirelessly on this case.”

At the end of yesterday's hearing, Judge Mayo thanked the three convicts for their patience after a delay of more than an hour due to technical difficulties.

He said: "It is very unfortunate that you are unable to attend court today personally. It's a strange time."