Court round-up

A GANG of thugs who trashed two cafes and robbed customers during riots across most of London have been jailed this week, writes Emma Heseltine.

Members of three gangs across North Kensington and Westminster joined forces, and about 80 of them gathered in Park Road, before splitting up to target businesses.

A Little Venice minicab driver lay dead in the back of his car for up to two days as passers-by assumed he was asleep, an inquest heard.

Fears were raised when 36-year-old Lotifur Rahman left his Downfield Close home on August 31 following a row with his wife and had no contact with his family for two days.

A young Lisson Grove father died while testing out his new motorbike just days after buying it, an inquest heard.

Yad Qadir, 28, of Blanche Court, Whitehaven Street, was killed almost instantly as he collided with the central reservation on the A40 Westway at around 50mph.

He leaves behind his wife Nadia and a young son.

NORTH PADDINGTON: Four men appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday, in connection with the murder of Queen's Park electrician Daniel Smith.

Friends and family were left devastated after 22-year-old Mr Smith was shot dead as he left KFC in Harrow Road, shortly after midnight on May 22 last year.

A 'violent and dangerous' teenager has been jailed over a vicious attack in Maida Vale which left a young man brain damaged.

Tristan Henry, 17, was involved in an altercation with a 23-year-old man on board a bus, which then spilled out onto the street.

WEST END: 10 people were today convicted of aggravated trespass following the occupation of Fortnum and Mason on March 26 this year.

Campaign group UK Uncut organised a sit-in at the luxury food store in Piccadilly during a protest against government cuts.

The son of Britain's first black cabinet member has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman as she was asleep.

Benjamin Kwahu Boateng, 27, of Crawford Street, Marylebone, met the 22-year-old at a nightclub before they both ended up at a private party in Battersea.

A paranoid schizophrenic who repeatedly stabbed a autistic school boy in a 'frenzied' attack during his lunch hour has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

The 18-year-old Paddington Academy pupil was left terrified of returning to school after he was stabbed in the stomach six times, as he walked in Oakington Road, Maida Vale.

Two men will appear in court today charged with the murder of Queen's Park electrician Daniel Smith.

Mr Smith, 22, was shot dead as he left KFC in Harrow Road, North Paddington, shortly after midnight on May 22 last year.

Shane Lewis, 31, of Fairlight Avenue, Harlesden, and Zeleke Ford, 29, of Otley Way, Watford, were arrested and charged by detectives last night.

A man and a woman who trafficked young women into the UK and forced them to work as prostitutes have been jailed for a total of 12 and a half years.

At Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Sergey Konart, 41, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Ekaterina Kolesnikova, 26, to two and a half years, after admitting charges including trafficking and controlling prostitution.