Bike thief gets 30 years for shooting dead man who took stolen £20k bike

A motorcycle thief who shot a man dead after accusing him of stealing the £20,000 bike he had taken from a BMW dealership earlier that day has been jailed for at least 30 years.

Josh Eno, 25, and Tyrone Atwood, 34, wheeled the valuable bike out of BMW Battersea after threatening to stab security staff at around 6pm on 5 October 2023.

Just over two hours later, the bike was stolen from them by two other males and Eno believed Rico Andrews, 21, was one of the culprits.

Eno jumped on a silver moped driven by Attwood and headed to Gaitskell Court off Shuttleworth Road to confront Mr Andrews near his home.

Eno was heard to shout ‘p*ssy hole’ towards Mr Andrews, before shooting him and making his getaway.

Another witness saw the moped racing off and a man allegedly say ‘that’s karma.’

Mr Andrews was shot in the chest and collapsed in front of the fire exit door of the flats.

Eno denied murder but was unanimously convicted by an Old Bailey following a retrial.

Tyrone Attwood, 34, denied murder and was cleared at an earlier trial.

He was convicted of robbery of the BMW motorbike, which Eno admitted.

Attwood accepted being the driver of the moped but said he did not know that Eno was armed.

He refused to leave his cell at HMP Belmarsh earlier this week prompting Judge Philip Katz, KC, to remark: ‘It’s ridiculous when we are manipulated by someone refusing to get out of bed. It is highly unsatisfactory.’

Judge Katz gave Eno a chance to attend but he refused again and he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 30 years in his absence today (thurs).

Earlier Rico’s mother, Chelsea Andrews, said in a victim impact statement: ‘My son Rico was an amazing human. He was the youngest of six before his sister came along and my other kids called him by golden boy.

‘Rico was so easy to love. He was someone who made you feel better after you spoke to him.

‘At his funeral, there were so many flowers and tributes, I had never seen anything like it. Thousands of people came to pay their respects. The procession of bikes, quads and cars literally shut down south west London.’

Asia Edwards, Rico’s younger sister, wept in court as she said: ‘He was not only just my brother, but my best friend. He was the most protective person on earth. My heart breaks every day that I couldn’t protect him.

‘He had a smile that could light up any room. To lose him in the way we did has left an emptiness which can never be filled.’

‘His funeral was beautiful. We set him off like the king he was. The streets were full. People came all over London to say goodbye. Strangers watched in the street, because he mattered.’

Eno had claimed that the gun belonged to Mr Andrews and he pulled the trigger accidentally in a struggle.

Giving evidence Eno claimed Mr Andrews’ family put a £50,000 bounty on his head after his death telling people to ‘slice’ him.

Emergency services were called and several local residents attempted to perform CPR but despite their best efforts, Mr Andrews died at the scene at 10:38pm.

The bullet passed through his pectoral muscle before eventually hitting the aorta which would have resulted in catastrophic haemorrhage and rapid cardiac arrest.

Brian O’Neill, KC, prosecuting, said at 5.06pm on 5 October the pair stole a Harley Davidson motorbike parked near the Victoria & Albert Museum in Kensington.

The owner was able to track his valuable bike using an Apple Air Tag tracker and it was recovered with the help of police.

Describing the robbery of the BMW motorbike less than an hour later the prosecutor said the pair road into the dealership in Stewarts Road on a Honda moped at around 6pm.

‘Eno got off the moped and went to a row of parked BMW motorcycles,’ said Mr O’Neill.

‘As he began to wheel one bike away, he was confronted by members of staff.’

Attwood aggressively shouted at security supervisor Simon O’Shea: ‘Get back in the f–king hut or you’ll get hurt’.

Eno then threatened to ‘cut or slash’ another security guard.

‘Mr O’Shea approached Eno as he was in the process of breaking the steering lock on the motorbike.

Eno said ‘Get back or you’ll get f–ing stabbed’, adding ‘If I have to put the bike on the stand, I will f–ing stab you’.

Mr O’Neill added: ‘Eno then lifted his top to show the large dark handle and silver bit of what Mr O’Shea believed to be a knife. He then lunged towards Mr O’Shea who backed off, telling him to take the bike.’

Sentencing Eno in his absence Judge Katz said: ‘The victim impact statements describe the massive impact this murder has had not only on his family but his wider community.

‘To add to their grief, the family have had to endure two trials, as you Eno did everything you could to get away with murder. The family’s resilience has been extraordinary.

‘The allegation was that you believed Rico and his friend Harry had something to do with the theft. You told the jury that losing the motorbike was an occupational hazard.

‘But in your retrial you suddenly invented false narratives. You destroyed the little that was left in your ambitious case.

‘You did everything you could to paint Rico in a bad light and as a victim. There has been no flicker of remorse from you. The fact that you refused to come to court shows how little you care.

‘The murder of Rico Andrews was directly related to the background of your heavy criminal lifestyle.

‘This murder was brazen and was committed in front of numerous people watching from their homes.’

Eno, of Moffat Road, Tooting, denied but was convicted of murder.

Attwood, of Sheepcote Lane, Battersea, denied and was cleared of murder.

Attwood denied but was convicted of robbery of the BMW which Eno admitted.

The pair also admitted stealing the Harley Davidson.