British rapper “Ghetts” was jailed on Tuesday by a London court for 12 years for killing a student while speeding and over the drink-drive limit.
The award-winning grime artiste, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, failed to stop after his BMW hit Nepalese national Yubin Tamang, 20, in northeast London last October.
The 41-year-old defendant admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
At his sentencing at London’s Old Bailey court, judge Mark Lucraft handed down the 12-year prison term and disqualified him from driving for 17 years.
He told Clarke-Samuel that CCTV footage showed a “quite appalling litany of incidents” leading up to the fatal collision, which was “simply shocking”.
The judge noted the father-of-two’s “genuine remorse” and letters of support, including from his partner, setting out how he had used his career in music to make a positive impact on his community.
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Ghetts, who has collaborated on tracks with Ed Sheeran and won the best male act prize at the Music of Black Origin (Mobo) Awards in 2021, was said to be one-and-a-half times over the legal drink-drive limit before the crash.
He went through six red traffic lights, repeatedly veered onto the wrong side of the road and was driving at more than twice the speed limit in a 30-mph (48 kilometres per hour) zone before his car hit Tamang as he was crossing the road, the court was told.
The defendant made no call to emergency services and Tamang died in hospital from his injuries two days later.
Clarke-Samuel had 12 previous convictions for 27 crimes from the age of 16, including robbery, aggravated vehicle taking and driving offences.
Sharmila Tamang, the victim’s mother, wept as she read out a statement about her only child in court.
“My son had come for his studies to the UK saying the UK had the best degree in the world,” she said.
“But on his way back from his work this happened and he lost his life.”
