Man jailed after stabbing new father to death
A man has been convicted of murder for his role in stabbing a new father to death. Jack Stevens, 19 of Pultney Street, N1 was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 13 March for his role in the murder of Nashon Esbrand. He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 22 March Three people have already been sentenced for Nashon’s murder, however Stevens had fled abroad after the killing and was arrested after their trial had taken place. Jhon Berhane, 19, of no fixed abode, Dillon Zambon, 21, of Leirum Street, Islington and a 16-year-old male were jailed at the Old Bailey on Monday, 25 June 2018. Berhane was sentenced to life, with a minimum of 21 years for Nashon’s murder; Zambon was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years and the 16-year-old male was sentenced to 12 years for the murder. The court heard how on the afternoon of Thursday, 24 August 2017 Nashon, 27, of Upper Holloway, had been visiting his parents address in Islington. He was visiting his family with his girlfriend and his two-week-old baby daughter. After dropping his girlfriend and baby back at their home, he then set off to return to his parents’ address to pick up his car. However, on his way back to the address Nashon came across two males, one identified as Dillon Zambon and the second Jack Stevens. Stevens and Nashon were known to each other and Stevens was believed to hold a grudge. Nashon was witnessed being chased along Essex Road into Mitchison Road, by a larger group of males on bicycles. Nashon called his father and told him he was being chased. Nashon’s father left the address to find his son and flagged down officers in a police car to assist. However, at around 18:50hrs as police searched for him, Nashon was cornered on the steps of an address in Mitchison Road, N1 by the group and then stabbed; he was tragically close to where his parents lived. The London Ambulance Service attended and Nashon was taken to an east London hospital, but he sadly died at 02:30hrs on Friday, 25 August. A post-mortem examination discovered five knife wounds; Nashon had cuts to his torso and two stab wounds to his legs. One of the stab wounds to his leg had severed an artery; the cause of death given was blood loss from stab wounds. Detectives from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command launched a murder investigation. A number of key eyewitnesses were spoken to and a vast amount of CCTV from the area was reviewed, ultimately resulting in the positive identification of Stevens and the others involved in the murder. Stevens attempted to evade arrest and later told the court he spent the night of the stabbing at a family friend’s house and then moved to another house, outside of London, in another un-named city. Three to four weeks later he left the UK in the boot of a car travelling to Belgium, from where he journeyed onwards to Spain. Officers had identified Stevens as a suspect and obtained a European Arrest Warrant. On Monday, 9 July 2018 the National Crime Agency (NCA), working alongside the Spanish authorities, arrested Stevens in Spain on the warrant. Stevens was extradited to the UK on Thursday, 30 August and was taken to an east London police station where he was charged with Nashon’s murder. He appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 31 August. Detective Sergeant Lee Tullett of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command said: “Today, Jack Stevens has been forced to face the consequences of his actions after desperately trying to evade justice. Stevens was part of a gang who pursued Nashon through the streets in broad daylight, before he was cornered and fatally stabbed. “Despite extensive medical intervention, his injuries were so severe they were not survivable and he died at hospital. The trauma of the night will surely live with his family forever. Nashon was a new father and his family has been devastated by this senseless killing. The Met is determined to arrest those responsible for murder and bring them to justice no matter where they try to hide.
