A 16-year-old boy and an accomplice have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 21-year-old man during a rush-hour shooting in broad daylight.
The boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars along with Sammy Tesfazgi, 21, of Lithos Road, West Hampstead, sentenced to a minimum of 27 years at the Old Bailey on Monday for killing Yasir Beshira – known to his friends as Loopy.
A third man, Rilind Tahiri, 22, of North Road, Holloway, was sentenced to 14 years for manslaughter at the same court.
Investigating officer DCI Andy Partridge said: “This shocking attack was carried out during rush hour in a very busy location.
“I want to thank members of the public who came forward to try and save Yasir after he was shot and those who greatly assisted the police investigation.
“This was a complex and protracted investigation. These sentences should remind those planning such violent attacks on our streets that they will be pursued and brought to justice for their actions,” he added.
Yasir collapsed and died in front of shocked commuters in Netherwood Street, off Kilburn High Road, after being gunned down by his killer, who was 15 when he took his victim’s life on December 8 2016.
Despite the efforts of paramedics and members of the public who rushed to his aid Yasir was pronounced dead at the scene after receiving a bullet wound to the stomach.
The attack began in nearby Palmerston Road with Yasir’s killer, who lay in wait behind a restaurant’s bins before firing the fatal shot, leaving his victim to stagger along the road to Netherwood Street whilst he fled to the Webheath estate where Tahiri and Tesfazgi were waiting in a getaway car.
After the shooting Tahiri set fire to the vehicle in a bid to destroy the evidence.
During the police investigation officers discovered the gun used in Yasir’s murder had links to a shooting in Camden on September 29 last year with a knife also recovered from the scene being linked to Tesfazgi.
Two others were found guilty of assisting an offender. Ashley McFarland, 35, from Hertfordshire was sentenced to five years whilst Kim McFarland, 59, of Belsize Park, got three years.
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