Car as a weapon: Islington man convicted of east ham murder

Trevelle Rowland jailed after deliberately running down a man in East Ham, following a shocking history of attacks with his car. Police describe him as extremely dangerous.

A man has been convicted of murdering a man with his car, nearly a year after he injured two security guards in a separate attack.

On Monday, 12 January, a jury at Inner London Crown Court found 34-year-old Trevelle Rowland, of Cornelia Street, Islington, guilty of murder, dangerous driving, and two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm.

Detective Inspector Aytac Necati, who led the investigation, described Rowland as “an extremely dangerous man” who used his car as a weapon. He said: “Rowland is also a devious liar. He misled police about the initial attack, in which he ran his car into a pair of security guards over a trivial dispute – only to go on to kill another man using the exact same method. Both of the incidents were captured on CCTV. We would like to express our sympathies to the family of Fergany Mvuezolo, and to Rowland’s two living victims. The defendant has left a trail of destruction in his wake.”

Read more: Norwich turf war: London gang member guilty of rambo knife murder

The fatal attack occurred at around 05:20hrs on Sunday, 24 March 2024, on Barking Road, East Ham. Officers attended the scene with the London Ambulance Service following reports of a collision. Fergany Mvuezolo, 35, was found critically injured. Despite emergency treatment at the scene, he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Investigators pieced together events using CCTV, witness testimony, and mobile phone footage. Rowland, who knew the victim, had been involved in a dispute outside a local restaurant. He left the scene in his Volkswagen Tiguan but returned shortly after, deliberately driving into Mvuezolo. Witnesses at the scene identified Rowland as the driver, prompting a manhunt. He was arrested later that day at Heathrow Airport while attempting to flee the country, with a receipt linking him directly to the restaurant.

Police connected the East Ham attack to a similar incident ten months earlier. On 29 May 2023, Rowland had driven the same car into two security guards outside a pub in Ripple Road, Barking, following a dispute over a baseball cap. One guard was thrown onto the car bonnet, sustaining knee and ankle injuries, while the other suffered a hand injury.

Rowland initially denied involvement in the earlier attack, claiming he had rented the vehicle to someone else. Both victims later identified him as the driver. He was subsequently charged with murder and two counts of attempted Section 18 grievous bodily harm.

Read more: The selfie killers: Teen gang jailed after posing for photos celebrating deadly attack

Rowland is due to be sentenced on Thursday, 15 January.