Group found guilty over fatal ambush attack

One man has been found guilty of murder and five of manslaughter after a 21-year-old man was slashed and stabbed by an armed gang wearing balaclavas.

Dale Martin, also known as DJ, was dragged out of a car before his attackers set upon him "like a pack of animals", a witness told the court.

The attack in Derby on 15 June 2025 followed a history of "animosity" between two rival groups, and two confrontations earlier that weekend, the court heard.

Jayden Mannion-Roberts, 26, of Tennyson Street, Derby, was found guilty of murder by a jury at Derby Crown Court, which was sitting at Loughborough Magistrates' Court, and five other men all from Derby were convicted of manslaughter.

The men found guilty of manslaughter were:

• Ki Grant-Finlayson, 23, of Addison Road, Derby

• Keenan Hamblett, 27, of Osmaston Park Road, Derby

• Shaylon McCalla, 27, of Copes Way, Derby

• Kayin Holmes, 25, of Nightingale Road, Derby

• Kelci Thompson, 19, of Osmaston Road, Derby

Asha Waddilove, 21, of Ashworth Avenue in Derby, Bridget Hamblett, 58, of Osmaston Park Road in Derby, and John Sylvester, 21, Regan Road, Derby, were all found not guilty of assisting an offender.

Another man, who was 17 at the time of the trial, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

The court heard the jury reached their verdicts after 46 hours and 44 minutes of deliberations.

The court previously heard Martin was attacked in Oaklands Avenue and Stenson Road at about 23:45 BST.

The Renault Megane he was travelling in was "ambushed" when the group put their electric bikes in the road to stop the car, which then swerved and stalled.

Adrian Langdale KC, prosecuting, told the trial that attackers had armed themselves with swords, machetes and "Rambo knives".

He said Martin initially managed to escape, then tripped on a piece of wood and fell to the floor.

"The pack descended upon him, they surrounded him, and they repeatedly stabbed and chopped at his head and chest and back area," Langdale said.

The six men will be sentenced on Thursday 1 October in Loughborough.

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