Giuseppe Gregory death: Moses Mathias jailed for life
A teenager who shot dead a 16-year-old boy in a pub car park in Greater Manchester before going on the run for two years has been jailed for life.
Moses Mathias was 15 when he killed Giuseppe Gregory outside the Robin Hood pub in Stretford on 11 May 2009.
Mathias, now 18, was held in Amsterdam in June after an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency and police. He later admitted the murder.
At Manchester Crown Court, Mathias was told he must serve at least 18 years.
In March 2010, Njabulo Ndlovu and Hiruy Zerihun, then aged 19 and 18, were jailed for life and ordered to serve minimum terms of 21 years and 23 years respectively after they were convicted of Giuseppe's murder.
'Desire for vengeance'
Mathias had denied in court that the motive was revenge for the murder of Zerihun's boyhood friend Louis Brathwaite.
Louis, who was also 16, was shot dead in a betting shop in Withington, south Manchester, in January 2008.
Mathias said he did not know Louis and denied being a gang member, saying he had only intended to enter the pub to "rob the tills".
He claimed when the car carrying Giuseppe arrived outside the pub, he only started firing out of "fear for [his] life". He said he did not learn of his death until the next day.
These claims were rejected by Mr Justice Holroyde, who said: "This was a planned shooting motivated by inter-gang rivalry and a desire for vengeance.
"The waste of young lives is dreadful. In this case one teenager has been killed and you and others will spend in prison what should have been productive lives."
The court heard Mathias had been stopped in the street by police in Manchester a week after the murder but was not a suspect at the time.
When they subsequently raided his home in Prestwich, they found lyrics he had written that referenced killing someone, moving to Spain and possible prison sentences.
Mr Holroyde said: "Making every allowance for adolescent bravado, your compositions show a very disturbed attitude and mind."
In a statement, Giuseppe's mother Samantha said: "In the blink of an eye they robbed my son Giuseppe of his life, his future, our happiness, and plunged my family into an everlasting life of grief.
"Giuseppe will always be my son. He will always be my entire life. He was my best friend and everything I lived for and I truly loved him."