Five men jailed following violent disorder involving weapons in Birmingham
Five men have been jailed for their involvement in violent disorder which broke out in broad daylight and left two men seriously injured.
Eessa Alam, Casiim Montgomery, Hamaad Raaja, Mohammed Aadam and Mohammed Zaheer will all serve time behind bars after being found guilty of charges of attempted murder, violent disorder, and multiple weapons offences from the disorder, which happened on Church Lane in Stechford on March 27 last year.
Following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in September, all five men were found guilty of a number of offences.
Alam was found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition, possession of a bladed article, and two counts of attempted murder, while Casiim Montgomery was found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition and GBH.
Montgomery also pleaded guilty in September to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition, and committing grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Raaja was found guilty of violent disorder and possession of a bladed article, Aadam of violent disorder and possession of a bladed article and Zaheer of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.
On Friday at Birmingham Crown Court, Alam, 21, of Liddon Road, Birmingham, was jailed for 27 years, Montgomery, 23, of Mulwych Road, Birmingham, for 22 years, Raaja, 18, of Jephson Drive, Birmingham, for two years and six months, Aadam, 21, of Audley Road, Birmingham, for two years and four months and Zaheer, 27, of Audley Road, Birmingham, for one year and nine months.
The court had heard how officers from West Midlands Police were called to reports of disorder breaking out on Church Lane at around 3.30pm on March 27.
The force said a group of men were seen fighting with weapons including machetes, bats, and a gun and as the disorder broke out, a gun was fired multiple times before they all fled from the area.
Two men later presented to emergency medical staff, one with a gunshot injury and the second having suffered a laceration.
An investigation was immediately launched by the Major Crime Team, and following extensive searches of CCTV footage, investigators discovered that the occupants of three cars were involved in the disorder.
West Midlands Police said the CCTV footage found the men involved carried out a violent, dangerous attack in broad daylight, with members of the public at danger of their careless actions, and which included a moment where one of the men fired a gun multiple times.
Though he was seen to be targeting one of the men involved, the dangerous manner of the shooting placed members of the public at risk of serious harm.
Detective Inspector Stacey Follows, from our Major Crime Unit, said: "These five carried out a senseless, violent attack in broad daylight, which put members of the public at serious risk. Thankfully, no members of the public were injured.
"The offenders demonstrated a high degree of malice and an intention to cause the most serious of harm.
“Officers worked extensively on the case to identify the suspects through complex investigation - they will thankfully be spending a long time behind bars."
