MOB gunman guilty of shooting gang rival
A “Cinderella” gunman who was caught for a gang shooting after leaving his shoe at the scene has been convicted by a jury.Anwar Muhammad, 22, of Sandys, was described by prosecutors as a member of the MOB gang who shot teenager Princeton Burrows because he was associated with the rival White Hill Crew.Muhammad leaned forward on the dock with his MOB tattoo clearly visible on his hand after the unanimous verdict was delivered by the jury to charges of attempted murder and using a firearm. They had been deliberating for less than 90 minutes.Muhammad was the pillion passenger on a motorcycle who opened fire on Mr Burrows, then 19, outside the Maximart store in Sandys around 3.45pm on August 23, 2010. Witnesses reported up to ten bullets being fired, one of which hit the bodywork of a nearby taxi cab.Heralding the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Pedro said: “We are very pleased with the verdict. This was a particularly reckless and callous shooting in broad daylight on a busy thoroughfare in Somerset.“The potential for great loss of life and injuries was immense. It was outside a busy market where any number of people could have been shot.”Although Muhammad and the getaway rider concealed their faces with helmets, he was caught after dumping his clothes near Industrial Park Road in Southampton. Police found the clothes after receiving a tip-off less than an hour after the crime was committed.The clothes; a white vest, black shirt and a black Adidas sneaker, had his DNA on them along with the victim's blood. Muhammad left his other sneaker on the road at the scene as he fled, prompting prosecutor Carrington Mahoney to dub him the “Cinderella of crime”.The Supreme Court trial heard Mr Burrows wrestled Muhammad off the bike and grabbed the gun from him before Muhammad and his accomplice made off.Mr Burrows suffered gunshot wounds to one of his fingers and his thigh and had to be flown to the Lahey Clinic in the US for treatment. He gave evidence to the trial, explaining that he could not tell who his attackers were.However, Muhammad was linked to the crime when DNA test results came in.The jury also heard how damning photographs were found on his cell phone when it was seized by police, depicting Muhammad making gang and gun signals with his finger and posing with MOB jewellery.He also showed off his MOB tattoo in the cell phone pictures, and an audio recording he inadvertently made on the phone caught him talking about guns and bullets with his friends.Muhammad maintained his innocence of the charges throughout his eight-day trial.He insisted that he had been cutting hair at his Somerset barber shop at the time of the crime and someone must have stolen his clothes and committed the shooting.He even told the jury that his own brother, Rasheed Muhammad, had admitted to the shooting. However, when the brothers' father, Anwar Muhammad Sr, gave evidence on Monday, he told the jury Rasheed was in police custody on the date in question.Shawn Williams, 20, was originally due to stand trial alongside Muhammad accused of being the getaway driver in the shooting.However, prosecutors discontinued proceedings against Mr Williams shortly before the trial began.The conviction of Muhammad is the latest in a string of guilty verdicts against gunmen brought before the courts in recent months.Det Ch Insp Pedro said: “We are seeing the benefit of resources being put into the arena by the Government and the Commissioner.”