A teenage crack dealer who killed a man in a row over the size of his drugs was on Monday, October 2, 2023, sentenced to a total of 12 years in custody.
Abubakar Sakho, now 18, received seven years after admitting the manslaughter of Lewis Butler in Milton Keynes with a further five years for his part in an attack on another inmate at Feltham Young Offenders Institute.
The judge David Farrell KC said he regarded him as a dangerous offender and passed an extended sentence of a further five years, meaning that on his release he could be recalled to prison at any time within the next 17 years.
Sakho was aged 17 when he pulled out a huge knife and fatally plunged it 25 centimetres into Lewis Butler’s abdomen.
Mr Butler, who was 44, shouted: “I am stabbed. Call an ambulance” as he lay on a walkway between houses at Buttermere Close, Bletchley, Milton Keynes at 11pm on Monday 17th January last year.
Prosecutor Ian Hope told Luton crown court friends of Mr Butler tried to give him CPR while a member of the public dialled 999.
One witness said: “It looked as if intestines were hanging out.”
Mr Butler, who lived in Milton Keynes, died seven minutes after being taken to the city hospital. A post mortem examination found he died from a single stab wound that caused internal bleeding. 1.7 litres of blood filled his abdominal cavity and he died from significant blood loss.
The knife was found close to the scene. It had broken in three places.
Earlier that evening, at 6pm, Lewis Butler asked Thomas Maughan if he wanted to come with him to buy drugs. They went to a friend’s home and ordered drugs from Sakho.
He arrived with four or five wraps of crack at the address. There was a minor altercation and he left.
At about 11pm the group decided to buy some more drugs and made another call to the line agreeing to meet the defendant in Buttermere Close.
They parked up in a red Seat Leon and went to meet Sakho. There were complaints about the size of the drugs. One was heard to say: ‘The size is shit.’ There was pushing and a punch was thrown striking Sakho
The defendant was arrested the next day. In a prepared statement he told the police he had been dealing drugs for a limited period. He said he had been contacted to supply a customer with 10 deals for £70
He said: “I pulled the knife out and hit one. Everything happened quickly. I was defending myself I feared for my life.”
He said he had no intention to kill anyone.
Lewis Butler’s brother Wayne Phillips said, in a victim personal statement, that his death was “meaningless.” His mother Yvonne said the loss of her son was unnecessary and sad. She said there have been numerous victims of stabbing and so many people’s lives had been ruined. His partner said her whole life had fallen apart.
Last year a jury failed to reach a verdict on a charge of murder. In November Sakho from Milton Keynes pleaded guilty to manslaughter. That plea was accepted by the prosecution. He admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and having a knife.
Sakho was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm while on remand at Feltham Young Offenders Institute. He was involved in a group attack on another inmate who had been branded a snitch.
Defending, Lewis Power KC said: “He was an immature young man who has succumbed to peer pressure and expressed bad errors of judgment.”
In an letter which he read to the judge, over a video link from Belmarsh Prison, Sakho said: “I am deeply remorseful for devastation I have caused.”
Judge David Farrell KC told him: “You had unlawfully armed yourself with a vicious weapon while carrying out the unlawful activity of class A drug dealing.
“You are undoubtedly a very dangerous young man.”
Beds Boro Bulletin Oct 23
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