Two teenage killers who murdered a 15-year-old schoolboy have been sentenced to additional prison time after stabbing another inmate just six months into their life sentences. Cousins Jakele Pusey, 17, and Jovani Harriott, 19, launched a brutal attack on a fellow prisoner at HMP Wetherby using improvised weapons.
The pair were originally jailed for life in May 2023 for the murder of Khayri Mclean, who was stabbed while walking home from his Huddersfield school. They had waited outside North Huddersfield Trust School wearing masks and carrying large knives before attacking the teenager in front of horrified classmates.
Prison attack caught on camera
Leeds Crown Court heard that in November 2023, six months after their murder conviction, Pusey and Harriott were serving their sentences together when they participated in a coordinated assault in the prison gym. CCTV footage showed the cousins standing against the wall, watching their victim as he worked out with weights.
The attack began when a 17-year-old co-defendant, who cannot be named, punched the victim in the face as he knelt on a bench. Within seconds, Pusey and Harriott rushed from the wall and began punching the victim before chasing him across the gym floor into a corner.
Victim stabbed more than 20 times
The three attackers punched, kicked and stamped on the helpless victim while he was on the ground. Pusey and Harriott used improvised weapons to stab him more than 20 times across his arm, lower back and head during the assault that lasted just under a minute.
A fourth person, Thomas Murray, 18, joined the attack before security staff intervened to break it up. The court heard it was unclear what caused the violence, but the victim appeared to have "beef" with the teenager who threw the first punch.
Additional sentences imposed
Both Pusey and Harriott pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife in prison. Pusey, who was 16 at the time of the prison attack, received an additional 32 months on top of his life sentence for murder.
Harriott, who was 18 during the assault, was sentenced to a further 38 months in prison. Judge Ray Singh lifted reporting restrictions that had prevented Pusey from being identified due to his age, noting he had already been named in the murder case.
Progress and rehabilitation efforts
The court heard that Pusey had initially failed to engage with psychiatrists but has now "started to make progress in terms of starting to think about why these offences have been committed". Harriott is set to undertake an anger management course, with the judge noting that "a great deal can change" before he reaches his thirties and can be considered for release.
Murray, who also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment. The unnamed 17-year-old who started the attack pleaded guilty to a lesser assault charge and received 36 months in prison.
Khayri Mclean was fatally stabbed on 21 September 2022 while making his way home from school in the West Yorkshire town. The trial heard that Pusey stabbed the teenager in the chest with a 30cm blade, with prosecutors describing him as "jumping into the air and swinging a knife", before Harriott followed up by stabbing Khayri in his lower leg.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
