Roumelia Lane shooting: Former Met boss says retribution will happen (From Bournemouth Echo)

Roumelia Lane shooting: Former Met boss says retribution will happen

9:00am Saturday 28th July 2012 in News By Paula Roberts

A FORMER Metropolitan police officer says reprisals for the shooting in Boscombe could be “inevitable”.

Chris Hobbs, who worked as one of the force’s Operation Trident officers, spent years investigating gang and gun crime in London, Jamaica and other parts of the world.

He said reprisals would follow “if the murder is gang related and arrests and convictions are not secured”.

Reece G, aged 21 – also known as Reece James and nicknamed Stylie – was found dead in a flat at the corner of Sea Road and Roumelia Lane after being shot in the face in the early hours of Wednesday.

Mr Hobbs said police would be investigating the possibility that Stylie’s death could be linked to a phenomenon known as country lining, or county lining, where London-based gangs involved in drug dealing travel to others parts of the UK to deal drugs.

Mr Hobbs said: “The result can be conflict with local dealers which the London gangs normally win or co-operation with local dealers. Rival dealers ending up in the same provincial town can also clash.

“They will perceive somewhere as a soft touch and that is where they will go.”

He said that if Stylie was linked to the Church Road Soldiers – one of London’s major gangs – retribution would happen unless the police found those responsible.

“If the shooting was gang related then the other gang will find out who was responsible and there will be retaliation. It won’t necessarily be next week, or month it could even be next year,” he said.

He said any plans for retribution would be stalled following the recent ‘Olympics ’ drug raids which were reported to have involve Church Road gang members along with other North West London gangs.

Mr Hobbs said Dorset Police would be liaising with counterparts in the Metropolitan Police to seek information and intelligence about the gang members involved in the murder.

And he said police forces in other parts of the country were actively engaged in operations against London drug dealers, including Southampton, Norwich and Aberdeen.

Murder victim had appeared in video with X Factor judge

THE man killed in the Roumelia Lane shooting appeared in a music video with X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.

Police believe Reece G, or Stylie, was the victim a “pre-planned and targeted” attack and the flat in which his body was discovered had been associated with Somali drug dealers in recent months.

Reece, 21, has been linked to the Church Road Soldiers – a gang known to operate out of the Church End Estate in Harlesden.

He had been filmed earlier this month alongside N-Dubz start Tulisa in a video for rapper Nines on the notorious estate.

News of Reece’s death spread yesterday on social networking sites with many shocked friends paying tribute on Twitter.

@JustJamz wrote: R.I.P my brother stylie. Life’s too short.”

And @ MsGenevieve wrote: “RIP. When I heard the news I was hoping it was a bad joke. Gone too soon.”

Rene Saul wrote on Twitter: “Don’t judge just because a man’s a drug dealer, don’t make him a scum. You don’t know his life show him some respect.”

Another woman @Lala_burton wrote: “All I can think about is Stylie!!! I can’t get my head around this.”

@TrapstarTempz21 said: “RIP Stylie, Dey took da wrong person.”

Yesterday detectives leading the murder enquiry continued to hunt for Reece’s killer or killers.

It is understood the force is working closely with the Metropolitan Police and their enquiries are focussing on a number of areas of London as well as locally.

DCI Kevin Connolly, of Dorset Police’s Major Crime Team, said: “I am especially keen to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious or unusual in the area of Windsor Road, Roumelia Lane, Cecil Road and Sea Road between midnight and 4am Wednesday morning.”

High visibility patrols are being carried out in central Boscombe and the precinct.

A post mortem examination was carried out yesterday but an inquest into Reece’s death is not expected to be opened until early next week.

A 22-year-old man arrested on Thursday continues to assist police with their enquiries.

Witnesses and anyone with information should call Dorset Police on 101 quoting incident number 25:46.