Four men have been convicted of attacking rival drug dealers who were operating on their turf in Bristol.
During the trial at Bristol Crown Court it was claimed the men – two from Bristol and two from London – acted when it emerged three Somali men were dealing Class A drugs out of a flat in Canynge House in Prewett Street, Redcliffe.
The attack, in which it was alleged masked intruders used knives and a stun gun, left 21-year-old Yasin Salah Ahmed dead and two other men seriously wounded.
Four men were charged with Mr Ahmed’s murder on June 25.
The four men found guilty were:
Korie Hassan, 26, of Church Road, Upper Norwood in Croydon
Leon Eaton, 37, of Lewin Road in Lambeth
Jordan Lee Parker, 23 and of Bedminster
Yonis Diblawe, 24 and of Canynge House in Prewett Street
The men were also found guilty of wounding with intent regarding Ayub Dirie and Ahmed Jama.
Andrew Langdon QC, prosecuting, said Bristol has its share of Class A drug addicts – in particular addicts of crack cocaine and heroin. He said drug dealers who sell these drugs make a great deal of money and are in competition with each other.
But he said they took action after Somali men Ahmed, Dirie and Jama took utilised a flat at Canynge House for rival drug dealing in a so-called “cuckooing” arrangement.
A jury of six women and six men heard how Eaton and Hassan drove a hired Mercedes from London to Bristol and linked up with Bristol associates Parker and Diblawe.
The court heard a recording of a 999 call witness Ms Guthrie made to police concerning balaclava-clad men with “tools” arriving at Canynge House.
Mr Langdon said: “What followed was a ferocious attack by heavily armed men who entered the flat and attacked the occupants with knives and a stun gun, leaving two occupants seriously wounded and one fatally wounded.”
investigation recovered knives and clothing linking the accused men to the scene.
Eaton did not make any prepared statement to police. Among a few short replies he did make, when the subject of a burglary came up, he said: “If it was supposed to be a f***ing burglary they f****ed up init.”
Parker said nothing, save for: “I am not responsible for the murder of Yasin Ahmed or the wounding of the two other males.
“I accept that I made the following significant comments after my arrest: ‘I’ve done nothing. I ain’t killed no-one. I ain’t touched no-one.”
Since then each of Eaton, Hassan and Parker have let it be known they each accept they were one of the four men who went to the flat that night.