A terrified family from Walsall has spoken of their constant fear and urgent desire to relocate after a planned shooting at their home in the early hours of the morning, while their children were asleep. The incident, which occurred on May 26 last year, involved a revolver bullet that pierced the kitchen window and lodged in a pantry cupboard. A second warning shot was fired at the family car parked on the driveway.
Victim Impact Statement
During the sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, the mother of two children read a victim impact statement. She said: 'I'm constantly nervous and scared. I don't know what these people are capable of or what they may do next. I'm scared to close my blinds when I'm cooking in the kitchen, I'm scared someone is outside my house.' She added that her children no longer play outside and that the family feels unsafe in their own home, prompting them to look for a new residence outside the area.
Sentencing of Perpetrators
Two of the three men involved in the shooting were jailed this week. Sharif Cousins, 50, of Chester Road, a former gang member with a history of violent offences including holding a gun to a police officer's head, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an extended three years on licence. James Gray, 28, of Minstead Road, who acted as the getaway driver and had previously stabbed a man, received a nine-and-a-half-year sentence.
Judge Dean Kershaw remarked that it was 'only luck that no one was killed' and described the attack as 'a clearly thought-through, planned and dangerous enterprise.' He noted that the shots could have killed someone if they had been in the pantry at the time.
Cousins intends to appeal his sentence, maintaining his innocence, while Gray claims he had no prior knowledge of the planned shooting but admits to being the driver.
