Teenager Pleads To Manslaughter

17-year-old Darrell Desuze, of bath Road, Hounslow, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case of a pensioner killed during last summer’s riots in London.

Mr Bowes, 68, was trying to stamp out a fire in Spring Bridge Road, when he was punched and fell to the ground.

He suffered brain damage from the impact of his head hitting the pavement.

Desuze had previously admitted burglaries on the day of the attack at William Hill, Tesco Express, Blockbusters and Fatboys Thai restaurant.

An order banning the defendant from being identified was lifted yesterday and Mr Justice Saunders said, in terms of consequences, it was the most serious crime committed during the riots and the public had a right to know what happened and who killed the retired accountant.

The court heard how on the evening of the killing Desuze, known as Smokey, set off for Harrow with friends.

They then headed to Ealing after getting a text from someone anticipating trouble there.

Desuze, wearing sunglasses and a distinctive top saying "Robbers and Villains", was caught on camera kicking in the glass doors of a shopping centre before joining a mob that attacked police with missiles around Spring Bridge Road.

Prosecution QC Brian Altman said: "But one thing distinguished him from the others. He killed Richard Bowes, an entirely innocent local resident who had intervened to extinguish flames and prevent a fire in one of the bins."

The barrister said left-handed Desuze threw his full weight behind a punch to Mr Bowes's jaw, buckling his legs, knocking him unconscious and backwards where his head took the full force of impact on the road.

After initially walking away Desuze returned to Mr Bowes and moved him onto the pavement.

"If it was concern for what he had done, it was short-lived," said Mr Altman.

Desuze will be sentenced next month.

Lavinia Desuze, Darrell’s mother, will appear in court on Monday charged with perverting the course of justice after she destroyed the clothes Darrell had wore on the night he killed Mr Bowes.

(H)