Two men have been found guilty of the murder of a man who was stabbed to death above a shop in Dudley.

Jaskaran Kang was repeatedly stabbed when a gang of men, carrying weapons including a ‘Rambo sword’ and zombie knife, burst into his flat demanding drugs and money. The 24-year-old died at the scene in the early hours of 6 January 2018.

Detectives launched a murder investigation and established that Mr Kang and his friend had been dealing cannabis. The pair worked at Dudley Wines and More on Stourbridge Road, and lived in a flat above the shop. Kang would take phone calls from people wanting to buy cannabis, before asking his flatmate to bring it down from a box in the loft.

CCTV showed four men leave a Ford Focus after it parked up on nearby Spring Parklands at around 2.15am on the morning of the killing. The men, each carrying weapons and wearing balaclavas, walked to the shop’s side door before kicking it off its hinges.

Mr Kang told his friend to hand over the drugs. The gang took the drugs, but stabbed Mr Kang multiple times before fleeing.

CCTV, DNA and mobile phone evidence helped identify the gang, and following a trial which started at Birmingham Crown Court in January and ended today, four men were found guilty of a number of charges. Dontay Ellis, 19, from Central Drive, Lower Gornal, and James Peake, aged 18, from Southgate Way, Dudley, were found guilty of murder. 

Joshua Campbell, aged 18, from King Edmund Street, Dudley, was found not guilty of murder, as was Michael Cunningham, aged 18, of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Reggie Salmon, aged 21 from Stourbridge Road, Dudley, was found not guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.

Cunningham and Peake admitted conspiracy to rob, while Ellis and Campbell were found guilty. Tyrone Johnson, aged 18 from Malthouse Drive, Dudley, was found not guilty of conspiracy to rob. Det Insp Justin Spanner, who led the investigation, said:

“This was a ferocious attack, using an appalling array of weapons. There can be no justification for this kind of violence and homicide detectives worked tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.”

Sentencing will take place tomorrow (Wednesday).