A police officer has spoken about giving chase to armed men after they murdered a man in Redcliffe.
An attack by Korie Hassan, Leon Eaton, Jordan Parker and Yonis Diblawe left 21-year-old Yasin Ahmed dead and two men seriously wounded on June 25, 2018 in Prewett Street.
The culprits, who used machetes, tasers and knives, were jailed for a total of 122 years after each being found guilty of murder and two wounding with intent offences.
PC Luke O’Connell, the recipient of a police award for his role in arresting the attackers, has told Bristol Live about the dramatic chase.
How the chase unfolded
The masked intruders, who were involved in a ‘county lines’ drug ring, had targeted Mr Ahmed and the other men because they were rival Class A dealers.
After carrying out the attack at a flat in Canynge House, the four men had fled the scene in a black Mercedes.
Insp Glen Boxer, PC Phillip Sage and PC O’Connell were called to the area following reports of men carrying weapons in Redcliffe.
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“We weren’t aware it was a murder and wounding with intent offences, but we knew something had gone awry,” PC O’Connell said.
He revealed he acted on “gut instinct” to stop a car which, it turned out, contained the gang members.
PC O’Connell added: “It was coming away from the scene, and it seemed that something wasn’t quite right.
“After we stopped the vehicle, we could see, under the streetlight, that they were in possession of machetes.”
'Stand-off'
The officer says there was a “stand-off” for one or two seconds, during which the offenders in the car did not say anything.
“They had seen we were there and knew they couldn’t take off in the car because we had blocked the road,” PC O’Connell continued.
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“Then the four men in the car all exited the vehicle and ran away in different directions.”
PC O’Connell chased and tackled one of the men, while the other officers detained another offender.
“We stayed in pairs and caught them with the help of the dog unit, which was there and played a vital role,” PC O’Connell said.
'Clearly dangerous'
Asked if the pursuit was frightening given the men had machetes, the officer said: “Not really at the time.
“It was more a case of the individuals being clearly dangerous, and we needed to take them off the streets.
“We had to do that very quickly. We didn’t want them running round the streets of Bristol.”
Two of the attackers were caught that night, before the other two were arrested the following day.
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Insp Boxer, PC O’Connell and PC Sage received Crown Court Commendations at the Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s force awards last month.
PC O’Connell paid tribute to the work of fellow officers, PC Milton and PC Creed, for helping detain one of the offenders on June 25.
“Without the help of other departments, the PCSOs who were on the scene guard in very hot weather, the investigators and the local policing team, it wouldn’t have been possible to get such a great result,” he added.
He described the arrests and subsequent convictions as “a giant team effort”.
What happened in court
The four attackers were charged with Mr Ahmed’s murder, as well as wounding with intent regarding Ayub Dirie and Ahmed Jama.
They denied the allegations and a five-week trial started on November 20.
A jury of six men and five women found the defendants guilty of all charges on December 21, after deliberating for 11 hours and 26 minutes.
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Eaton and Diblawe were convicted on unanimous verdicts, with Hassan and Parker guilty on verdicts of 10 to one.
All were jailed for life with the following minimum terms: Eaton, 36 years; Hassan, 29 years and four months; Parker, 31 years and six months; Diblawe, 26 years.
