London man sentenced to 15 years for firearms offences

A man has been jailed for firearms offences after shots were fired in Leyton, east London.

Daniel Fakoya, 18, of Priory Court, E17 was sentenced to 15 years in jail and a further three years on licence, following a hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

He must serve a minimum of 10 years of his sentence.

Fakoya was previously found guilty of several other offences, including
conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with indent, conspiracy to have an offensive weapon – namely two bottles of ammonia – and conspiracy to supply controlled drugs of class A.

He also pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking.

The court heard that on December 17  2018 at around 11pm, Fakoya was one of three males who arrived in Leyton High Road in a Volvo.

They saw a group of males on the street and shots were fired from the car.

The group fled but Fakoya and his associates chased two males into an off-licence. However, once inside they could not find them and left.

They jumped back into the car and sped away from the scene.

But within five minutes the car had crashed into a shopfront in St James’ Street, E17.

Fakoya and the other occupants fled the vehicle.

Officers arrived at the scene and searched the abandoned car, finding inside a handgun, ammunition and two bottles of ammonia. The handgun was located in the driver’s footwell.

A forensic examination of the car revealed Fakoya’s blood on the driver’s airbag and also just outside the car, linking him to the car and the items inside.

Further investigation established the car had been stolen ten days earlier during a burglary in Essex on December 7.

Work began to track down Fakoya and he was subsequently arrested on February 14. He was charged the following day for his role in the incident.

It transpired that Fakoya was already under investigation for a separate incident where another handgun and a quantity of class A drugs had been found at an address linked to him following a raid by officers from the North East Command Unit in October 2018.

Fakoya was also charged with these offences.

Detective Sergeant John Macleod from Trident, part of the Specialist Crime Command, led the investigation and said: “Fakoya’s reckless actions on the night of 17 December in discharging a firearm in a public place could potentially have had fatal consequences and it is only by sheer luck that no one was seriously hurt.

“The motive for the events of that night appear to have been gang related – Fakoya and his associates looking to settle scores with their perceived rivals.

“Our work continues to trace the others who were in the car with Fakoya that night. His conviction should serve as a clear message to them that we will continue to track down dangerous individuals and put them behind bars where they belong.”