Vengeful drug dealer found guilty of brutally stabbing Daneiko Ferguson to death on Harehills street

Following a month-long trial at Leeds Crown Court, a jury today found Alga Lutondo had murdered Daneiko Ferguson.

The jury, which was sent out last Friday afternoon to begin their discussions, deliberated for five days before returning a unanimous verdict. The jury will continue deliberations on Monday in respect of his co-accused Halgon Randon, also charged with murder.

The pair were also charged with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH), along with a third defendant, Maria Thomas. No verdicts have been returned in respect of that offence.

Lutondo and Randon have now been remanded back into custody. As a result of his guilty verdict, Lutondo will face a mandatory life sentence. A judge will decide a minimum number of years he must serve behind bars at a sentencing hearing yet to be fixed.

During the trial it was heard that Mr Ferguson, 27, had “taxed” drug dealer Maria Thomas’s house on Cowper Terrace in the early hours of February 15 – kicking his way into her property demanding she hand over her drugs.

After he left, Thomas called Lutondo, for whom she worked, to tell him about Ferguson’s attack. He then recruited Randon “as muscle” and they both set off on push bikes searching for Ferguson.

When they found him on Compton Street, he was stabbed him five times before they rode off, leaving him to die at the side of the road. He was found by a passing taxi driver and was taken to hospital, but died a short time later.

Lutondo later tried to leave the country, but was stopped from boarding a flight at Heathrow which was bound for Africa.

Lutondo, age 32, formerly of Berkeley Crescent, Harehills and 42-year-old Randon, of Brown Hill Terrace, Harehills, were later charged with murder. They were also charged with the conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH), along with 34-year-old Maria Thomas, who now lives in Horsforth.

During the trial both Lutondo and Randon accepted being there on Compton Street, but sought to blame each other for fatally stabbing Mr Ferguson.