Five convictions following murder of Sharmake Mohamud

22-year-old Sharmake Mohamud was killed in Green Lanes in September 2021

From clockwise top-right corner, victim Sharmake Mohamud, then convicted men Abdul Mohamed, Mehdi Younes and Ali Ceesay

Five men have been convicted for their involvement in a fatal shooting in Green Lanes, resulting in the murder of a 22-year-old man.

Sharmake Mohamud was killed on 21st September 2021, while two other men were also injured in the shooting.

Ali Ceesay pleaded guilty on Tuesday, 21st February to murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. During a trial at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 28th March, four other men, Mehdi Younes, Abdul Mohamed, and two males aged 17, were found guilty of murder and two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent.

During proceedings, the court heard how the five men congregated in an alleyway around two miles away from the murder scene. At 10.15pm, another man, Rasit Musa, was alleged to have driven a stolen Jaguar car to a car park off Oakthorpe Road where he left it until later.

At 9.25pm, another stolen vehicle – a Ford Galaxy – arrived at the alleyway. Younes took each of the group member’s phones in the hope that they would not be connected to the crime scene.

Just before 10pm, it is alleged that all group members got into the Ford Galaxy and drove to the Jaguar, where they transferred vehicles. They then drove around Green Lanes before parking near the junction at Fairfax Road.

At around 10.30pm, Ceesay and another of the men got out and ran towards Mohamud, who was walking along the road, discharging a handgun which struck Mohamud twice. The group then returned to the alleyway, where CCTV captured the 17-year-olds attempting to burn latex gloves used in the attack.

The Jaguar was driven to a service road off Oakthorpe Road where a group member attempted to set the vehicle alight. Later, a tracksuit with DNA and gunshot revenue from one 17-year-old was found in the vehicle, a pair of trainers and a machete sheath.

On 23rd September 2021, the Ford Galaxy was stopped by police due to erratic driving. The two 17-year-olds who were driving the vehicle were then arrested. Ceesay travelled to Gambia but was arrested upon his return on 27th October 2021. Younes and Mohamed were then arrested on 18th November 2021.

Detective chief inspector Wayne Jolley, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, led the investigation, and said: “This was a planned attack, the motivation for which is not entirely clear. However, the group set out that night with the intention of finding and doing serious harm to anyone they perceived to be from a rival group.

“The group drove to Green Lanes in a stolen car. Whether Sharmake was their intended target all along has not been established but when they saw him walking down the street they focused their lethal intent on him.”

DCI Jolley, added: “This was a meticulous investigation which used a combination of forensic evidence, phone work and CCTV tracking to conclusively prove the role all five had in this violent attack.

“While Ceesay was the person who fired the fatal shots, all five were implicitly involved in the murder. None of them can deny that they knew the intent that night was to cause serious harm to someone and they all played their part in the fatal outcome.

“Sharmake’s family have been devastated by his murder and have shown tremendous strength and courage to support this investigation. I can only hope that these convictions will bring them some small sense of justice.”

Musa was acquitted and the jury were unable to reach a verdict regarding a third 17-year-old male. The date for sentencing is yet to be decided.

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