A TEENAGER from Stratford had to have his lower leg amputated after being blasted with a sawn-off shotgun in a violent revenge attack instigated by a drug gang he had crossed.
The 17-year-old victim, who cannot be named because of his age, was believed to have robbed a member of the gang who then recruited Abdi Ali and Ethan Kirkwood to ‘hurt him.’
And following a discussion between them, in front of their terrified victim, over whether to stab him or shoot him, it was Ali who fired the shotgun into his leg.
The pair pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to inflicting grievous bodily harm on the teenager with intent to cause serious injury and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Kirkwood, 18, of Ackleton Grove, Weoley Castle, Birmingham, was jailed for 13 years, but sentence on Ali, 19, of St Peters Road, Leicester, was adjourned for up to two weeks for the judge to give further consideration to his case.
Prosecutor John O’Higgins said around the end of November last year there was an incident in which a member of a drugs gang was stabbed and robbed.
It was thought the Stratford teenager was involved, and in what was believed to be a revenge attack for that, Ali and Kirkwood were instructed to go to Stratford to ‘hurt him.’
In the early hours of December 4, they turned up at an address in Brookside Road, with Ali armed with a sawn-off shotgun and Kirkwood with a knife.
After discussing which weapon to use, with Kirkwood in favour of stabbing him, Ali then blasted him in the leg with the shotgun before they made off.
Ali was arrested two days later in Bristol, while Kirkwood was arrested on the M5 in Gloucestershire.
Mr O’Higgins said both defendants had entered their pleas on the basis that they had been under a degree of pressure to carry out the attack, with Ali saying he had been provided with the shotgun shortly before arriving.
Kirkwood, who said he was in debt to serious drug dealers and was told to pay it off ‘by doing things’ for them, said he had suggested stabbing the victim, but that Ali decided to shoot him.
Despite the efforts of surgeons after the victim had been rushed to hospital, his lower leg had to be amputated.
Mr O’Higgins added that the teenager says he now wears a prosthetic lower leg, and says he is unable to take part in sports with his friends and family, and the injury will also prevent him from applying for jobs he would otherwise have been interested in.
Justin Jarmola, for Ali, who lives with his parents and five sisters, having come to this country from Somalia when he was three, ‘was utilised to an extent by older criminal influences to do their bidding.’
Gerard Cullen, for Kirkwood, who he pointed out was 17 at the time, said he was ‘genuinely remorseful’.
Addressing Ali and Kirkwood, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano told them: “You are here because there had been some controversy among Leicestershire and Warwickshire drug dealers.
“You two were told by those higher up that a young man was involved in it, although I can see no evidence that he was, and you were instructed to sort it out by causing him injury.
“He was at a lady’s flat when you two and others arrived. He was shot in the leg, and he describes it as the ‘most agonising pain imaginable.’ His injuries were devastating.
“This is a young man of 17 who, despite the doctors’ best endeavours, lost his leg as a result, and he was not allowed out of hospital for two months. It is no surprise to hear that today he still suffers pain, and he will limp for the rest of his life.
“This is a young man whose life will never be the same again as a result of what you did.”
