Murder trial told victim Yasir Hussain was 'sitting duck'
A father-of-four who was “hacked to death” by a mob from a rival family wielding knives, guns and metal bars was unarmed, a murder trial heard.
Yasir Hussain, aged 34, was a “sitting duck” when the car he was travelling in was rammed into the front of a Chinese takeaway in Dudley.
Morrad Hussain, the intended target, escaped on foot but his cousin was repeatedly stabbed in the back as he tried to flee.
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The victim ran into the Golden City restaurant and jumped over the counter but collapsed and died soon afterwards, the jury heard.
Mr James Curtis, QC, prosecuting, said: “He had not had time to protect himself, nor was he doing anything by way of attack, nor found to have any weapons. He was just hacked to death.”
The murder was the tragic outcome of a “hate-filled” year-long feud between two local families which had seen an escalation in violence between them.
On December 4 last year residents, alerted by the sound of a crash at about 9.45pm, saw between seven and 10 men with weapons running up the street and piling into an Audi and a Honda Jazz which then drove off.
Morrad Hussain had fled up an alleyway beside the takeaway in Central Drive, Lower Gornal, to a nearby football ground where players alerted the police.
Yasir Hussain, from Burnley, was found by paramedics treated two knife wounds and a slash injury, thought to have been from a machete.
The fatal strike, from a knife, was 18cm deep and had pierced his heart.
'Unarmed'
The jury heard there was no evidence of defensive injuries, indicating that the victim, in Dudley visiting family, had not had a chance to protect himself.
“Yasir Hussain was unarmed, doing nothing – he was a sitting target,” the prosecutor told Birmingham Crown Court.
Morrad later claimed Nabeel Choudhary, 21, and Arkash Tasleem, 24, were front-seat passengers in the van.
It is not known which of the attackers struck the fatal blow but the prosecution argue that this was a joint enterprise, pre-planned and deliberate.
The defendants claim they were not at the scene.
In interview Choudhary told detectives that the man likely to be responsible was “Simon from Dudley”.
Choudhary, of Hope Street, West Bromwich, and Tasleem, of Broadway West in Walsall, both deny murder.
Choudhary also pleads not guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving on November 26 and possession of an imitation firearm with intent, while Tasleem denies possession of a machete.
The trial continues.
