Honeytrap gang leader who used girl to lure rival to death to be freed from jail

A gang boss who led a teenage boy to his death will walk free from prison in a matter of weeks.

Danny McLean, 32, was recommended for release on licence by the Parole Board earlier today (Thursday, December 1) after serving 13 years of a life sentence.

McLean was jailed after he and then-15-year-old Samantha Joseph worked together to lure their victim, 16-year-old Shakilus Townsend, into a trap where he was then killed in Thornton Heath, London, in 2008.

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Joseph, who was romantically involved with both boys at the time, used her relationship with Shakilus to tempt him to a secluded cul-de-sac, where then 18-year-old McLean and his gang, Shine My Nine, were lying in wait.

Shakilus was stabbed six times and beaten with a baseball bat and was heard screaming for his mum during the fatal attack.

The gang members were eventually chased away by neighbours, who found Shakilus bleeding to death and crying out: "Mummy, mummy, I don't want to die."

McLean was sentenced to life at the Old Bailey in 2009 and given a minimum term of 15 years, while Joseph spent 10 years in prison before being deported to Trinidad in 2019.

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Now, 13 years after he was thrown in jail, McLean is set to walk free, the Daily Mail reported.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: "We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Danny McLean following an oral hearing.

"Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community."

The spokesperson added: "A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

"Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.

"Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority."

Summing up the decision to free McLean, the Parole Board said "[McLean's] behaviour in prison had been positive for most of his sentence."

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McLean's release will be subject to a series of strict conditions, however.

He will have to live at an agreed address, will be subjected to electronic monitoring and will be restricted in terms of who he can contact.

The decision is also provisional for 21 days, during which time the Secretary of State has the option to appeal the decision – although this is not common.

McLean may be walking free, but his time in prison was far from uneventful.

Shortly after his sentence began McLean had a sexual relationship with a married prison officer Emma Beard, then 31, who was handed a year-long sentence in December 2010 following the dalliance.

Isleworth Crown Court heard how the mum-of-four had sex with McLean in his cell at Feltham Young Offenders Institution, Middlesex, and sent the 18-year-old inappropriate photos and love letters.

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