Thursday, October 29, 2020
Student, 20, is jailed for five years for pointing gun at Hasidic Jewish man then claiming it was for a YouTube prank
A civil engineering student who claimed he pointed a revolver at a Hasidic Jewish man as a YouTube prank has been jailed for five years.
Immanuel Oyewo, 20, chased Zeev Levy, in his 50s, along the road in Stamford Hill, north London and pointed the loaded airgun at his head on 17 February.
Oyewo, who fled on a moped, claimed he had always wanted to start up a YouTube channel after being inspired by the lifestyle of stars on the internet platform.
The court heard that he picked an orthodox Jew as a target for his supposed 'prank' because he said they have 'funny hats and a funny hairstyle'.
The gunman had admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence on the basis it was an extreme 'practical joke'.
Oyewo claims he never intended to use the revolver and said it was a prank to get money from advertisers on YouTube.
Jailing him for five years the Common Serjeant of London, Judge Richard Marks, QC, said: 'This was an incident carried out in the middle of the day in broad daylight.
'You had ridden that afternoon on your moped from your mother's house to Stamford Hill.
'You drove to Stamford Hill, an area you knew was frequented by orthodox Jews.
'You saw Mr Levy who was on a pavement on his phone, he had a distinctive appearance in that he is an orthodox Jew.
'You got off your moped and approached him and took out of your jacket a gun and pointed at him.
'He was absolutely terrified.
'All of this would be filmed on your phone. You chased him, still pointing the gun.
'It is the sort of shocking incident that for all you know could have caused him to have a heart attack.
'If bystanders would have acted in such an incident it could easily and quickly escalate with all manner of terrible consequences.
'You assert that Mr Levy ran off and you chased him... You continued to chase Mr Levy with a gun and with your hand stretched out.
'You panicked and threw the gun away.'
The judge said the revolver was dumped at the scene on Ravensdale Road with each chamber loaded with a .22 bullet.
The classic revolver shaped airgun was designed to shoot pellets but had been illegally modified to fire .22 bullets, the court heard.
The gun did not fire as the pin was not modified to strike the bullet at the correct place for it to discharge.
The judge told Oyewo: 'Your assertion that by merely looking at the gun that you were satisfied that it wasn't a real gun I reject.
'You could not have known because you did not bother to check that it did in fact contain live cartridges inside of it.
'There are a number of odd features to your story.
'On your own account you are using a gun that belonged to a violent gang and you were intending to return it for use by that gang, I reject the submission made by Mr Rose on your behalf.
'You have a younger brother who according to you, was the subject of bullying and intimidation because they believed that he had been responsible for providing a weapon that had been used to kill one of their associates.
'You claim that you were later intimidated.
'As far as the money, you say was being extorted, but you never even mentioned anything about it either to your brother or to your father.
'You further say in summer 2019 you were taken to a block of flats by a gang member.
'A trigger being pulled three times but no shots fired. You stated that the next time would be the real thing.
'It is extremely surprising that you would have taken and borrowed the gun from a man you claimed to fear.
'Carrying and use of guns however they are used represents a very serious crime.
'I ask rhetorically, could you seriously have thought you could have told Mr Levy that this was a prank and that everything would be ok?
'Against all of the above background whilst I reject your account... I cannot be absolutely sure that it is not a prank.'
Oyewo, of Fulham, admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possession of ammunition.
He was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
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