Four men have been jailed for life for their roles in a conspiracy to murder an 18-year-old in a car park in Coventry. The victim survived the shooting, which police attributed to the gang's "incompetence".
Mohammed Khan, 32, Nicholas Buckley, 36, Alyxander Fraser, 35, and Adam Bhayat, 36, were all convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in May this year. They were sentenced on September 4 at a hearing that concluded with life sentences for each of them.
Shooting in Gosford Street car park
The plot unfolded in September last year when the gang met up before the attack. Bhayat drove Buckley and Fraser to the car park on Gosford Street. Once there, Buckley got out of the vehicle and fired a shotgun at the teenager, causing serious but not fatal head injuries.
Following the shooting, the gang fled in a stolen VW Golf and went to Khan's flat, where they stayed before going their separate ways the next morning.
Police investigation and arrests
Detectives reviewed hours of CCTV footage to identify and track down the four men. All were eventually arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "We work to tackle gun crime 24/7 in the West Midlands, with firearms officers working alongside teams of detectives to identify, disrupt and arrest those suspected of being involved in armed criminality."
The arrests were captured on camera, showing the dramatic moment armed police took the gang into custody.
Life sentences handed down
Khan, of Branksome Road, Coventry, was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years. Buckley, of Broomfield Place, Coventry, received a life sentence with a minimum of 22 years.
Fraser, of Rhyl, Denbighshire, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 18 years. Bhayat, of Lower Precinct, Coventry, was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years. The sentences reflect the severity of the plot to kill the teenage victim in a public car park.
