Two teens jailed over fatal machete attack on boy, 14, in Newcastle gang feud
The judge criticised drill music as a "pernicious genre" that he said "tends to glorify violence". The court heard that the feud began with a "diss track".
Friday 8 March 2024 19:04, UK
Two teenagers have been jailed after being found guilty of the manslaughter of a 14-year-old boy.
Gordon Gault was stabbed on the arm with a machete as he rode on the back of a friend's e-bike in Newcastle's West End in November 2022. He died six days later in hospital.
The deadly attack, which also saw one of his associates slashed in the back, broke out when two rival gangs went out looking for each other.
Six teenagers went on trial at Newcastle Crown Court and were cleared of murder, but Carlos Neto, 18, of Salford, Greater Manchester, and Lawson Natty, 18, of Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, were convicted of manslaughter.
Neto stabbed the 14-year-old, jurors heard, while Natty was the one who supplied him with the machete he had bought online.
Mr Justice Martin Spencer sentenced Neto to nine years and two months while Natty, who was born in Belgium, was sentenced to 32 months, after which he could face deportation.
The attack was the culmination of an escalating tit-for-tat exchange of violence between the two gangs.
It had begun with a rival making a "diss track" making fun of Natty's appearance, the court heard.
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Neto led a group of six to infiltrate Elswick Park, where they were spotted by a larger group of rivals, causing them to retreat.
Gordon, armed with a baseball bat, was stabbed as he was isolated riding on the back of a friend's speedy e-bike, then a separate clash followed in a nearby street.
During the sentencing, the judge also criticised drill music as a "pernicious genre" that he said "tends to glorify violence".
Neto said he was inspired by rappers and their lifestyle, their money, fame, cars and watches.
He liked the rappers' masculine image and the respect they earned, telling jurors during his trial: "Without these things, my chances of success were zero."
"You still have a future," Mr Justice Spencer told Neto. "Sadly, Gordon Gault does not."
Gordon's mother wept as she read a statement out in court, urging people not to carry knives.
"The devastation your actions cause is unimaginable."
Gordon's grandmother Frances Gault referred to offensive raps and remarks Neto made after the killing.
She said: "Mocking him and gloating about these actions absolutely crushed me.
"No remorse has ever been shown and I can never forgive this."