Anthony McCalla was not a member of the Brixton based Gas (Guns and Shanks) gang as court prosecutors alleged, it has been claimed.
Lawyers examining the shooting of five-year-old Thusha alleged McCalla, along with fellow Gas gang members Nathaniel Grant and Kazeem Kolawole, chased Shaun Bryan from the Stockwell-based ABM (All ’Bout Money) gang into the Stockwell Food and Wine Shop in a tit-for-tat conflict.
But a source told the Streatham Guardian that McCalla was in fact part of the Tiny OC (Organised Crime), to which the Gas gang is closely linked.
McCalla himself told the Old Bailey he was a Tiny OC member, but denied any connection with the Gas gang.
It is believed McCalla has a tattoo on his arm which reads “One Chance” to show his affiliation with the gang.
Members of the Tiny OC tend to join between the ages of 13 and 15, but do not necessarily progress to the Younger OC, which has older members, the source said.
He said each clique is distinct, but encompassed under an overarching umbrella of the Organised Crime (OC) gang.
Two associates of the OC, Stefon Thomas and Marlon Stubbs, were jailed in 2006 for their part in a shooting in Battersea.
Profile: McCalla's journey into gang culture
Born to a Brixton electrician and a crack addict mother, Anthony McCalla was looked after by his grandmother and spent spells in care.
But she struggled to look after him and he was getting into trouble.
Before the Thusha trial, he had convictions for violent disorder, robbery and firearm possession.
Friends said he was not an obvious criminal as he was withdrawn and quiet.
His youth workers said he was not as “ruthless” as some of south London’s most violent gangsters.
It is also understood a close family member was murdered in 2004.
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