A 26-year-old man from Orpington was today convicted of killing a lab technician.

Amariah Linton, of East Drive, St Mary Cray, was among a group of men who burst into the home of Richard Delopp in the Thornton Heath area of Croydon before his brother, Norman Delopp, was shot in the back trying to help him.

A jury at the Old Bailey heard that on the evening of February 16, 2006, Norman Delopp, 35, went to the assistance of his younger brother after their aunt alerted their mother that he had been attacked while she was speaking to him on the phone.

When Norman reached his brother’s flat, he entered through the front door and was then grabbed by 19-year-old Craig Barley, of Morval Road, Brixton.

A fierce struggle ensued, resulting in Norman being shot at close range by an unidentified man.

The bullet pierced Mr Delopp’s heart, shot through Barley’s right arm and ended up in Mr Delopp’s left thumb. Barley and Linton were then seen to flee the premises.

The jury found both men guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob after a six-week long trial.

Natalie King, 25, of Kent Close, Pollards Hill, south London, was found guilty of assisting an offender, by driving Craig Barley away from the scene in her silver Peugeot 206cc car, disposing of Barley’s mobile phone and then disposing of the vehicle two days later by trading it in at a Peugeot car dealer.

Det Ch Insp Adnan Qureshi, of the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Trident, said after the verdict: "The removal of those who are prepared to carry a gun and use it with such tragic consequences is testament to Trident’s commitment to remove men of violence from the streets of London."

All three defendants are due to be sentenced on Friday, March 9.

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