Turkish man among those guilty of 2009 Clapton pool hall killing
(Clockwise from top left) Yusuf Arslan; Ndombasi Makusu; Blaize Lunkula, who fired the gun; and Christian Barabutu were all convicted of murder
FOUR MEN have been convicted of the murder of Cem Düzgün, the 21-year-old who was shot dead in Clapton five years ago.
Blaize Lunkula, now 28, was found guilty last week of killing Mr Düzgün on 5 October 2009.
Three of his associates – 24-year-old Yusuf Arslan; Ndombasi Makusu, 27; and Christian Barabutu, 22 – were also convicted of murder after helping to plan the victim’s death.
All four will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 11 April.
Mr Düzgün was shot 11 times with a sub-machine gun as he played a game of pool with his friends at the Clapton FC Club, a Turkish social club, at 10.45pm.
The victim, who lived with his family in Islington and worked as a sales assistant at a clothes store in Croydon, died at the scene.
The court heard that the murder was part of a spate of violent tit-for-tat incidents – including other killings – that took place around that time between the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks gangs.
Cem Düzgün was killed after being shot 11 times on 5 October 2009
LINKS TO ERBAŞLI SHOOTING
Just three days before Mr Düzgün’s murder another man, Oktay Erbaşlı, had been shot and killed in a targeted attack while he was driving a car in the Roundway, Tottenham.
The prosecution argued Mr Düzgün was then killed in revenge, although he was not thought to be the intended target.
The gunman Lunkulu gained access to the club with the help of an accomplice who held open a pair of secure air lock doors, the court heard.
30CM FROM THE HEAD
People inside became aware something was happening and Mr Düzgün went to investigate, Lunkula opened fire, shooting 11 bullets through the victim’s head, torso, arms and legs.
Ballistics experts later estimated that the weapon was closer than 30cm from Mr Düzgün’s head when it was fired.
The court was told Arslan remained away from the scene, having being the earlier ‘organiser’ and present at a ‘council of war’ when the revenge attack was planned on 2 October 2009.
How Londra covered the story in 2009
The prosecution was produced evidence that Arslan had taken that time to call the brother of Oktay Erbaşlı immediately before and after the murder – when he reported that Mr Erbaşlı’s death had been avenged.
