Two teenage drug dealers jailed for fatal stabbing

Omar Khan, 38, died at the scene after being stabbed at the Sundon Park Parade of shops in Luton in September

Two teenage drug dealers have been jailed after being convicted of murdering a 38-year-old man who was stabbed with a knife which was nearly a foot long.

Omar Khan died at the scene of the attack in the Sundon Park area of Luton on 16 September.

Umer Choudhury, 18, of Tulip Close, Luton, was given a 18-year minimum custody term at St Albans Crown Court.

A 17-year-old boy who had a collection of more than 60 bladed weapons, and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a 20-year minimum term.

Jurors found the pair guilty at Guildford Crown Court earlier this year.

The two teenagers, who were 16 and 17 at the time of the killing, were also convicted of wounding Mr Khan’s partner, Cheyenne Barnes, 38, who suffered serious stab injuries.

Mrs Justice Foster said the teenagers would be detained at His Majesty's Pleasure until a parole board decided they could be released on licence.

'Familiarity' with knives

Jurors heard how the two teenagers had met Mr Khan, of Leicester Road in Luton, and his partner in order to sell them drugs, and both admitted charges relating to supplying cocaine and heroin.

The 17-year-old youth carried out the attack with a bayonet-style hunting knife which was 28cm (11in) long. A pathologist told the trial it cut through Mr Khan's principal arteries and spine.

The murder weapon has never been recovered.

Jurors heard that he had bought more than 60 knives and machetes in the months leading up to the attack.

The judge said she was "sure" Choudhury knew the youth had the hunting knife.

She said the pair had known each other since they were 14 and the court heard both had had difficult childhoods which involved exploitation by older people, bereavement and social services involvement.

They had a close relationship in terms of drug dealing and a "close familiarity" with knives.

Joe Stone KC, representing the 17-year-old youth, said Mr Khan and his partner had been armed and "planned a knife-point" robbery. The two defendants had claimed they were acting in self-defence.

He said the attack on Mr Khan and his partner had been a "reaction" and was not planned.

The dead man's mother Yasmeen Khan said in a victim impact statement that she struggled to find words to express her "pain and anger".

The judge lifted a ban on identifying Choudhury in the media and said she would make a decision on identifying the 17-year-old in the near future.