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2 months ago
22
One of the thugs who killed 10-year-old schoolboy Damilola Taylor is back behind bars for a sixth time - just days after being freed from a four-year stretch in jail.
Ricky Preddie was just 13 when he and his younger brother Danny slaughtered the youngster as he walked home from the library.
The pair used a broken beer bottle to stab Damilola in the leg, with the stricken schoolboy later found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham, South London.
Ricky and Danny were jailed for eight years in 2006 for the manslaughter Damilola in November 2000 – with Preddie freed in September 2010 having served two thirds his sentence, while his younger brother was released in September 2011.
But while Danny, 36, has largely remained out of trouble since being released from jail, his sibling Ricky, 37, has been a one-man crimewave.
The criminal menace was last caged for four years back in February 2020 after running over a police officer in Wembley, north London.
Now MailOnline can reveal the prison tearaway - also known as Ricky Johnson - is once again behind bars, following an alleged police chase through London days after his release from jail.
Ricky Preddie, also known as Ricky Johnson, pictured, has been released from jail after his fifth stint behind bars following the killing of Damilola Taylor in 2000
The schoolboy was stabbed to death by brothers, Ricky and Danny Preddie, aged 13 and 12 at the time of the attack in November 2000
Damilola , pictured, was stabbed and left to die in a stairwell in Peckham, south east London in November 2020. He was just 10 years old
The career criminal has been accused of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and failing to stop for police.
The alleged incident took place on March 2 in Chiswick High Road, west London. Preddie reportedly failed to stop for police before a chase ensured, which ended five miles away in High Street, Hounslow.
The 37-year-old killer appeared at Ealing Magistrates' Court on March 4 before being remanded in custody, ahead of a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on August 2.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police told MailOnline: 'Ricky Johnson, 37, of Croydon Road is due to appear in custody at Isleworth Crown Court on August 2 charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, using a motor vehicle on a road / public place without third party insurance, and failing to stop for police.
'The charges relate to an incident on 2 March in the vicinity of Chiswick High Road, when officers on routine patrol attempted to stop a vehicle.'
Who was Damilola Taylor? The schoolboy who moved to Britain for a better life
Ten-year-old Damilola Taylor had moved to Britain from Nigeria a few months before he was jabbed in the thigh with a broken beer bottle by a gang of youths as he walked home from the local library after school.
The youngster was found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham, south London, in November 2000, where local workmen tried to save his life.
It took six years and three trials to identify and convict the killers. Danny and Ricky Preddie, members of the Young Peckham Boys gang, were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years at the trial at the Old Bailey in August 2006.
Danny was released from prison early in September 2011 after serving five years of his sentence.
Ricky Preddie was first released in September 2010, but recalled to custody in March 2011 after returning to Peckham from his west London bail hostel in breach of his licence conditions.
Preddie's heinous life of crime started as a 13-year-old child, with the abhorrent killing of Damilola Taylor.
The hard working schoolboy had moved to Britain from Nigeria a few months before he was stabbed in the thigh with a broken beer bottle by Preddie and his brother as he walked home from the library after school.
Harrowing CCTV footage from the night the 10-year-old died, on November 27, 2000, showed him leaving Peckham Library at 4.51pm.
Damilola appeared happy as he skipped home with a smile on his face – but just 15 minutes later he was bleeding to death in a disgusting, grime-covered stairwell.
The 10-year-old was stabbed in the leg with a piece of broken glass and had collapsed in the concrete stairwell close to his home. Within 30 minutes, he was dead.
The boy's death shocked the nation and became one of London's most high-profile killings – with England legend Rio Ferdinand, who grew up on the same estate in Peckham where Damilola died, making a direct appeal to local children for information about the slaying.
Star Wars actor John Boyega was Damilola's friend. He and his sister Grace were some of the last people to see the youngster alive, with the actor this year opening up about the killing of his childhood pal, which he said had been 'life-changing'.
It took six years and three trials to identify and convict the killers. Danny and Ricky Preddie, members of the 'Young Peckham Boys' gang, were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years at the trial at the Old Bailey in August 2006.
Danny was released from prison early in September 2011 after serving five years of his sentence.
During one court hearing in 2013, Preddie, pictured outside West London Magistrates' Court, mocked the Taylor family with a hand-written sign which spelt his victim's name incorrectly
Star Wars actor John Boyega was Damilola's friend (he is pictured on March 16, 2024)
Boyega was friends with Damilola (above), who was killed in the street in Peckham, south London in 2000 as he walked home from a library. Boyega (circled and blurred with sister Grace) was one of the last people to see him alive
Ricky Preddie was first released in September 2010, but recalled to custody in March 2011 after returning to Peckham from his west London bail hostel in breach of his licence conditions.
Then in October 2011 he beat up another prisoner, but a Parole Board hearing on December 23 decided he should be released on January 25, 2012.
He lasted just 16 days before being taken back to prison for again violating his parole by going to areas he was banned from and visiting friends from his old gang.
He was let out in July 2012, which means he has lasted just five months on early release before being hauled before the authorities again for handling stolen goods.
He was released after serving out every day of his eight-year sentence in 2013.
Although the eight-year jail term was handed down in 2006, he had already served time behind bars on remand.
Following a 2013 court appearance, Ricky Preddie arrogantly held up a sign outside court reading 'Real Justice for Damiola Taylor' – misspelling the schoolboy's name.
The stunt followed an appearance before West London magistrates where he denied a string of driving offences.
He was last jailed for four years in February 2020, with his automatic release date expected sometime at the end of February of this year.
Preddie's bid for early release was turned down by the Parole Board in September 2021.
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