Teenage gang members sentenced to over 77 years following attempted murder at railway station – Hackney

Four teenage gang members have been sentenced to a total of over 77 years following the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man. 

Following a British Transport Police investigation, the four men aged between 18 and 19 were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday 7 August. 

They had previously received guilty verdicts at the same court on 22 May. 

Elisandro Pinto Alves, aged 18, of Overbury Street, Hackney, was found guilty of attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a pointed / bladed article in a public place, and violent disorder. He was sentenced for a total of 17 years.  

Hanzell Greenaway, aged 18, of Munro Way, Hackney, was found guilty of attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a pointed / bladed article in a public place, and violent disorder. He was sentenced to a total of 19 years. 

Jaheim Thomas, aged 18, Cassland Road, Hackney, was found guilty of attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a pointed / bladed article in a public place, and violent disorder. He was sentenced to a total of 19 years.   

Marvin Edokpolo, aged 19 of Dalson Lane, Hackney, was found guilty of attempted murder. He was sentenced to a total of 22 years and three months. 

The judge ordered for the men to serve two thirds of their sentences with the remainder on license.  

The court heard how, on 1 March 2023, at around 1.10pm, the victim – a man aged 20 at the time - was on board a train heading to Hackney.  

During his journey, Edokpolo was made aware the victim was on board the train and heading into the Hackney area.  

Edokpolo proceeded to contact Greenaway, who was with Thomas and Pinto Alves in a McDonalds close to Hackney station. Following their conversation, the trio left McDonalds and headed to the station.  

Pinto Alves, Greenaway, and Thomas arrived at Hackney Central railway station, and began looking for the victim, the 20-year-old man. He had just left the train and called down the lift on the ground level platform. 

A woman, aged 64 at the time, entered the lift on the overbridge to travel to the ground level.  

While the victim waited, he was made aware of the three teenagers approaching him and withdrew a knife. At the same time, Greenaway began slashing his own knife towards him.  

Behind them, the lift doors opened and the victim retreated into the lift where the woman was. As she attempted to avoid the slashing knife in the small lift, the victim was stabbed.  

The victim managed to push Greenaway out of the lift, however he was stabbed again. He managed to get himself back to the lift as the two other teenagers approached: Pinto Alves with a knife slashing at the victim, and Thomas with a gun. Thomas proceeded to shoot into the lift while the victim used the woman as a shield. The entire attack was caught on CCTV. 

The trio then fled the station on bikes. Armed BTP officers arrived on the scene within minutes followed shortly by London Ambulance Service.  

The victim sustained life-threatening injuries from the attack, including multiple laceration wounds and a single gunshot to the leg. He received life saving treatment from paramedics at the scene and enroute to hospital. Thankfully, the woman was physically unharmed.  

Significant evidence was retrieved from the scene including a knife, phone charger and cable, blood, a bullet, and bullet casing.  

An extensive investigation was launched including CCTV reviews, mobile phone enquiries and vehicle tracking, which helped trace the movements of Pinto Alves, Greenaway, and Thomas between London, Dunstable and Folkestone. 

On 3 March, following the extensive enquiries, a vehicle was tracked to a location in London and was believed to have Greenaway and Thomas inside. Metropolitan Police officers conducted a planned stop on a vehicle with five people inside, including Greenaway, Thomas and Pinto Alves. A live firearm was also recovered from underneath the vehicle and was later confirmed to be the firearm used in the attack.  

Edokpolo was later arrested on 7 March.  

Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Paul Attwell said: “This was a shocking attack in broad daylight that was fortunate not to be fatal, not only to the intended victim but the innocent witness in the lift. Thankfully, incidents of violence involving firearms on the rail network are extremely rare, but when they do occur we will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice.  

“This was a highly complex investigation and I thank those at BTP who worked tirelessly to build this case. This outcome reflects their hard work and professionalism, and I’m grateful to see these sentences handed down.” 

Pictured left to right: Edokpolo, Greenaway, Pinto Alves, Thomas.