Killer tried overturn his conviction for gunning down young man

A killer jailed for gunning down a young father has had his conviction challenge thrown out by the Appeal Court today (Friday).

Roberto Sebastian Parchment, 25, was jailed for life at the Old Bailey in December 2009 after he was convicted of murdering Jahmall Moore in January 2005

Mr Moore, a father-of-three, was shot dead outside his aunt’s home in Griffin Close, Willesden, in what the prosecution claimed was the climax of a bloody spiral of “tit-for-tat” violence.

The 24-year-old was shot five times in all, London’s Appeal Court heard, with one bullet lodging in his heart.

Parchment was not accused of pulling the trigger but was alleged to be among the four-strong gang which attacked Mr Moore, and was prosecuted on the basis of the murder was a ‘joint enterprise’.

He was tried twice for the crime with the first trial resulting in a murder conviction in May 2006.

That conviction was quashed by the Appeal Court, which ordered a retrial and Parchment was re-convicted at the Old Bailey in December 2009.

His lawyers challenged the ‘safety’ of his latest conviction.

Lord Justice Moses, sitting with Mr Justice Maddison and Judge Peter Collier QC, said the murder occurred against the background of a cycle of violence and retaliation sparked by the murder of Leon Labastide in 2004.

He added: “The prosecution alleged that Parchment and others had planned to murder a man called Sean Cephanis.

“Parchment, with three others, then saw Jahmall Moore nearby and spontaneously decided to shoot him instead.”

Parchment’s lawyers claimed his conviction should be overturned because a key prosecution witness lacked credibility.

Lord Justice Moses accepted there were shortcomings in the evidence but ruled there was a strong prosecution case against him and his conviction was not unsafe.