Milton Keynes man jailed for killing Lewis Butler

Lewis Butler died at Milton Keynes Hospital after being stabbed

A young crack dealer who killed a man in a row over drugs has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Abubakar Sakho, 18, from Milton Keynes, stabbed Lewis Butler to death in Bletchley.

Mr Butler, 44, had been buying drugs from Sakho with a group of friends in January last year when a disagreement broke out.

Sakho was sentenced to seven years after admitting to manslaughter and given five years for another offence.

He was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm while on remand at Feltham Young Offenders Institute, after being involved in a group attack on another inmate.

The court heard that on the evening of 17 January, Mr Butler and his friends had ordered drugs from Sakho, who delivered wraps of cocaine.

Later that evening the group decided to buy some more drugs and agreed to meet the defendant in Buttermere Close.

There were complaints about the quantity of drugs and a punch was thrown, striking Sakho.

Sakho pulled out a knife and stabbed Mr Butler in the stomach.

Mr Butler's friends tried to give him CPR while a member of the public dialled 999. He died within seven minutes of arriving at hospital.

Mr Butler was attacked in Buttermere Close in the Water Eaton area of Milton Keynes

Police arrested Sakho the next day, who said he had no intention of killing anyone.

In a prepared statement, he said: "I pulled the knife out and hit one. Everything happened quickly. I was defending myself - I feared for my life."

Last year a jury failed to reach a verdict on a charge of murder. In November, Sakho pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was accepted by the prosecution.

His mother Yvonne said "so many people's lives had been ruined" and his partner said her whole life had fallen apart.

In an letter which he read over a video link from Belmarsh Prison, Sakho said: "I am deeply remorseful for devastation I have caused."

Judge David Farrell KC told him: "You had unlawfully armed yourself with a vicious weapon while carrying out the unlawful activity of class A drug dealing.

"You are undoubtedly a very dangerous young man."