Sentenced for manslaughter of lab technician

5:38pm Friday 9th March 2007

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A 25-YEAR-OLD man convicted of the manslaughter of a lab technician was jailed for 13 years today.

Amariah Linton, of East Drive, Orpington, was found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob following the death of 35-year-old Norman Delopp in February last year.

Craig Barley, aged 19, from Brixton, was also found guilty of the same charges at the Old Bailey on February 23.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison today.

Norman was killed in Princess Road, Croydon, after he went to help his brother Richard, 34, who was being attacked in his home on the evening of February 16 last year.

Richard had been on the phone to their aunt when a number of men, including Barley and Linton, burst into his home intent on robbing him.

The men attacked Richard while his aunt listened on the phone.

While still on the landline, she used her mobile phone to call his mother and said Richard was being attacked.

Richard's mother immediately told her other son, Norman, what was happening and he drove to his brother's home minutes later.

The brothers' aunt was still on the phone and was listening to events unfolding at this stage.

She told the court she heard a voice ask who Norman was and this was immediately followed by a loud bang.

It later became clear she had heard Norman being shot.

When Norman reached his brother's flat, he had entered through the front door and was grabbed by Barley.

A struggle began, which resulted in Norman being shot at close range by a second unidentified man.

Barley and Linton were then seen fleeing the premises.

A post-mortem examination at Greenwich Mortuary gave the cause of Norman's death as a single gunshot to the back.

According to the pathologist, the bullet had travelled diagonally through Norman's body, through his heart, before exiting through his chest and becoming embedded in his thumb.

Barley later visited the A&E department of Mayday Hospital, Croydon, claiming to have been the victim of a robbery, during which he had received a gunshot wound to his right wrist.

It later became clear that as a result of the way Barley had been restraining Norman at the time he was shot, the fatal bullet had gone through Norman's body and then through Barley's right arm before re-entering Norman's left thumb.

Judge Martin Stephens said the sentences imposed on Linton and Barley should serve as a warning to those who participate in gun crime.

Speaking at the Old Bailey, he said: "You have contributed substantially to the fear and anguish which is now all too prevalent in this country, arising from the use of guns to commit crimes.

"Norman Delopp was an entirely respectable, hard-working citizen who not only had a job but was working on a degree to further his career."

Following the six-week trial, a 25-year-old woman was also found guilty of assisting an offender by driving Barley away from the scene.

Natalie King, from Pollards Hill, London, also disposed of Barley's phone and then traded in the silver Peugeot 206 she used to drive him in at a car dealership.

Linton was also sentenced to 11 years on the conspiracy to rob charge, to run concurrently with his 13-year jail term for manslaughter.

Barley was given nine years on the conspiracy to rob charge, to run concurrently with his 11-year sentence.