An ex-Burger Bar Boy who claimed he would 'protest his innocence and appeal any sentence' has now been jailed for his role in a shooting at a family home in Walsall.
Former gang member Sharif Cousins, 50, of Chester Road, was one of two men who approached a house in Princethorpe Road, Willenhall, before a revolver was fired at the window on May 26 last year. It was 'only through luck no one was killed' as one bullet went through the kitchen into a pantry cupboard, while another 'warning shot' struck a car outside. The couple, two children, and a grandparent inside were unhurt.
Getaway driver James Gray, 28, of Minstead Road, helped the trio flee in his father's borrowed mobility car, Birmingham Crown Court heard. Both Cousins and Gray were found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life after a trial.
Gray was jailed for nine and a half years, while Cousins received 12 years plus an extra three years on licence, branded a 'dangerous offender' on Tuesday, May 12. In a pre-sentence report, Cousins, who 'arranged the plan and was able to supply a gun', said he continues to 'protest his innocence' and intends to appeal.
Prosecutor Sarah Slater said they were 'jointly involved whether or not either of those are the actual shooter.' Sentencing, Judge Dean Kershaw told the pair: 'Shots were fired at the window of that house which went all the way through to a pantry cupboard, where someone could have been getting a midnight snack... They would have been dead.'
The court heard Cousins, a former member of a notorious Birmingham gang, had previous convictions dating back to 1997, including placing a gun to a police officer's head and pulling the trigger, which jammed. Most recently, he had a conspiracy to possess a firearm conviction in 2021. Gray had previously stabbed someone in the back, though he had no firearm convictions.
Defence lawyers argued their clients' roles were lesser, but Judge Kershaw emphasized the planned and dangerous nature of the enterprise. Cousins' lawyer mentioned his PTSD and the impact on his family, including missing the birth of his child. The judge noted Cousins' potential for good but said he had helped destroy the community he claimed to uplift. Gray was told his role as driver was critical.
