Ipswich gang killer's bid to reduce sentence rejected

The Court of Appeal dismissed Isaac Calver's appeal to reduce his jail sentence for killing Tavis Spencer-Aitkens in 2018

A man jailed for his part in the murder of a teenager has had his appeal to reduce his sentence rejected.

Tavis Spencer-Aitkens was stabbed 15 times and hit over the head with a glass bottle in Ipswich on 2 June 2018.

Isaac Calver, now in his early 20s, and three others were convicted of murder after a trial in the town.

He was given a life sentence and told he must serve at least 21 years. The Court of Appeal dismissed his bid to reduce the minimum term.

Tavis, 17, was fatally attacked on Packard Avenue on the Nacton estate in east Ipswich as he was walking back from the Queen's Way shops at about 16:50 BST.

Tavis Spencer-Aitkens died in hospital after being stabbed 15 times

During the trial, it was heard his death had been the culmination of conflict between two gangs in Ipswich - one from the Nacton estate and the other named after the Jubilee Park area in the west of the town.

The groups rapped about their rivalry on YouTube, the court was told.

In March 2019, Calver, of Ipswich, and three others were convicted of the murder of Tavis, while another was convicted of manslaughter.

At the sentencing in April 2019, Judge Martyn Levett said the attack was a "grim demonstration" of how violent crime had "blighted towns and cities across the UK".

Kyreis Davies had his 21-year minimum sentence for murder reduced to 16 years on appeal in April 2020.

Clockwise from top left, Aristote Yenge, Kyreis Davies, Isaac Calver, Adebayo Amusa and Callum Plaats were all convicted of the killing

Four of the gang members were given life sentences for murder, while one was jailed for manslaughter:

• Isaac Calver, aged 19 when jailed, of St Helen's Street, Ipswich was given a minimum of 21 years

• Aristote Yenge, then aged 23, of Spring Road, Ipswich was given a minimum of 25 years

• Adebayo Amusa, then aged 20, of Sovereign Road, Barking, east London was given a minimum of 23 years

• Kyreis Davies, then aged 17, of Turnstile Square, Colchester, was given a minimum of 21 years, later reduced to 16 on appeal

• Callum Plaats, then aged 23, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter