A man from Sands End has been jailed for life after stabbing a man to death in Fulham who had just been savaged by a bulldog.
Stephendale Road resident Raymond Bryant (pictured), 29, was sentenced last Tuesday at Blackfriars Crown Court to a minimum of 13 years in prison, for murdering a man in Seagrave Road in 2007.
The victim, Martin Stevenson, 35, of Warwick Road, Earl's Court, had been drinking in the Imperial Arms pub in Lillie Road with a friend on September 7 before the argument in which he was fatally injured.
He left at 10.45pm for Brompton Supermarket in Seagrave Road, Fulham.
There was a group of at least four people in or near the supermarket, including one woman and Stephendale Road resident Bryant, who had a white American bulldog with him.
When Mr Stevenson left the shop, he tried to play with the dog, but Bryant objected to this and the animal attacked.
The dog savaged the victim with enough force to tear his trousers and injure his leg, leaving him lying in the road.
While Mr Stevenson, known as 'Ginger' to family and friends, was on the ground, Bryant and two other males were seen by witnesses repeatedly punching and kicking the man before fleeing.
The bleeding victim was taken to hospital, but died the next day.
Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves, from the MPS Homicide and Serious Crime Command who led the murder investigation, said: "In many respects Mr Stevenson was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"This was a sad set of circumstances where a minor disagreement has resulted in the death of an innocent man.
"Bryant had no hesitation in using a knife to inflict fatal injuries, this is the real danger of routinely carrying knives."
The killer was identified through closed circuit television camera footage of him and the other attackers.
After extensive police enquiries, he was traced to a property in New Malden, Surrey.
On September 21, 2007,police swooped on the address. Bryant tried to escape but was caught and arrested.
The knifeman was charged with murder the same day. He was convicted on December 17 last year at Blackfriars Crown Court. On September 12,2007, a 16-year-old was arrested and later convicted of violent disorder committed on the same date.
He was sentenced to 180 hours community service at Blackfriars Crown Court on February 6 this year, by which time he had turned 17.
A third man was charged with violent disorder at the end of 2007 and is awaiting trial.
