Age is sadly no barrier when it comes to committing serious offences, as these cases involving South Yorkshire teenagers demonstrate.
In each of the cases included here, the defendants currently serving time were in their teens when they were brought to justice at Sheffield Crown Court.
The identity of some of the defendants on this list was initially protected by reporting restrictions due to them being under 18 when their cases reached court, only to be lifted at the request of the press by judges who believed it was in the public interest for them to be named.
9. Levan Menzies
Levan Menzies was 17 when he was one of four killers jailed for 110 years between them in 2009 after being found guilty of the murder of 17-year-old Tarek Chaiboub the year before. Nigel Junior Ramsey, his brother Denzil Ramsey, their next door neighbour Levan Menzies and pal Michael Chattoo were all involved in a plot to kill Tarek, who was hunted down and shot dead at a city barber’s on Spital Street, Burngreave. They were all part of the S3 postcode gang operating in Burngreave and Pitsmoor at that time and wanted the teenager dead when rival factions in the gang clashed. They blamed Tarek, of Castledine Gardens, Wincobank, for passing on information that led to the near-fatal stabbing of another S3 gang member. Nigel Ramsey – known on the streets as ‘The General’ and formerly of Andover Street, Burngreave – was said to have been in charge of the younger members, and organised the killing while behind bars. ‘Foot soldier’ Menzies received at least 20 years in prison. | SYP
10. Kyle Pickles
17-year-old Kyle Pickles, formerly of Kirkstall Road, Barnsley, killed 15-year-old Loui Phillips in an unprovoked attack in Monk Bretton, Barnsley, in August 2021. Kyle stabbed Loui in the chest in a jealous rage over a perceived relationship with a girl, and calmly walked away from the scene leaving the teenager fighting for his life. He had tracked down the girl and Loui using the Snapchat social media platform, which can map the location of users. Pickles admitted murder and was jailed for life. He must serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole. | Submit