Haringey murder: Gang members jailed for live for revenge killing

Mehdi Younis, Ali Ceesay and Abdul Mohamed (l-r) were jailed for life, along with two other men

Five men have been jailed for life for the murder of a man who was gunned down by gang members in a "tit for tat" revenge killing in north London.

Sharmake Mohamud, 22, died from gunshot wounds on 21 September 2021 in Green Lanes, Haringey.

Ali Ceesay, 29, Abdul Mohamed, 26, Mehdi Younes, 22, Jaymar Creary, 18, and Joyce Manzenza, 18, were all found guilty of murder and two counts of GBH.

Ceesay, who fired the gun, was given a minimum term of 35 years and 275 days.

At the Old Bailey, Judge Simon Mayo KC described the killing as a "tit for tat" revenge attack which had followed a shooting in Palmers Green six weeks before.

"The shared intention of all defendants was to kill," he said.

The judge added that Ceesay, of no fixed abode, was a "manipulative individual with a ready willingness to lie", and noted he had 21 previous convictions for 34 offences.

Sharmake Mohamud was shot eight times

During the attack, the driver of a passing moped, Newton Junior, 40, and pedestrian Arber Dervishi, 26, were both hit by bullets, but survived.

The Old Bailey was told Mr Mohamud was associated with a Turnpike Lane gang and had been the intended target of the carefully planned shooting.

The court heard how on the day of the murder, all five males congregated in an alleyway just over two miles (3.2km) away from where the killing took place to prepare for the attack.

They then shot and killed Mr Mohamud as he walked along the pavement at 22:30 BST.

CCTV footage captured the attackers embracing in apparent celebration afterwards, jurors were told.

• Gang members guilty of shooting murder

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the victim's mother Bilan Mohamud said: "The gang rivalries need to stop."

In her statement, Mr Mohamud's sister Sharhan described her brother as her "best friend", "hero" and "other half".

"I will always be grateful for everything he taught me, and everything he did to help me succeed in life," she said.

Mohamed, of Enfield, was sentenced to a minimum term of 34 years and Younes, also of Enfield, was given a minimum of 31 years imprisonment.

Creary and Manzenza, both from Waltham Forest, were given shorter sentences of a minimum of 22 years because they were both 16 at the time of the murder.

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