Four men have been sentenced to a combined total of 64 years in prison for their involvement in a drive-by shooting outside a funeral in Euston. The incident, which took place in January 2023, left four women and two girls injured, including a little girl who had a shotgun pellet lodged near her heart.
Tyrell Lacroix, 23; Jashy Perch, 20; Jordan Walters, 24; and Alrico Nelson-Martin, 20, appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Friday (April 12) where they were convicted for conspiracy to wound with intent to cause serious harm.
The court heard that the attack occurred outside St Aloysius Church during a memorial service. The victims were attending a requiem Mass for Sara Sanchez, 20, and her mother, Fresia Calderon, 50, who tragically passed away. Ms Sanchez had been battling leukaemia for three years, while her mother died suddenly from a rare blood clot.
According to Scotland Yard, Lacroix, a member of a North London gang, orchestrated the attack after believing that rivals would be present at the service. The planning for the shooting began in November 2022 when Lacroix obtained a black Toyota car to be used in the attack.
During the shooting, one of the little girls sustained injuries to her arms, legs, and pelvic region, with one pellet lodged near her heart. The impact of the incident was deeply felt by the victims and their families, with one mother expressing her daughter’s confusion and distress, saying, “Mummy, why has this happened to me?
Detective Inspector Darren Jones from the Specialist Crime Trident Investigation team condemned the actions of the perpetrators, describing the fear and horror they brought to the community. He highlighted the lifelong impact on the injured victims and emphasized the thoroughness of the investigation, which involved extensive CCTV footage and phone location data analysis.
While the four men have been sentenced, inquiries are ongoing to identify a third individual who was also in the car during the shooting.
The sentencing of Lacroix, Perch, Walters, and Nelson-Martin serves as a reminder of the Metropolitan Police’s commitment to tackling violence and bringing dangerous offenders to justice.
Investigation demonstrates our relentless determination to identify dangerous offenders and bring them to justice. I hope that the justice handed down today brings the victims a small measure of comfort and closure.”
Enquiries continue to identify a third man who was in the car at the time of the shooting.
