Nine gang members have been jailed for a total of more than 260 years after a Nottingham man was fatally stabbed in a case of mistaken identity.
Michael Anton O’Connor was attacked outside a property in Wilford Crescent West, The Meadows, shortly after 10.20pm on 10 November 2021.
The 31-year-old, from Alexandra Park, died at the Queen’s Medical Centre after police found him collapsed on the pavement.
A subsequent police investigation found the murder was the culmination of a drug war which had broken out between two rival organised crime groups – each vying for control of the local drugs market.
Michael, known to many as Anton, was well-known and well-liked in the area and was tasked with calming tensions between the two gangs. However, his killers mistook him for their intended target, a Nottingham drugs kingpin, and it cost Michael his life.
In October 2022, eleven people went on trial at Nottingham Crown Court accused of his murder. On 12 June 2023, nine of those defendants were found guilty of murder. Sentences for their offences have been taking place throughout this week.
