Gunmen guilty of murdering teenager

Two gunmen were found guilty today of murdering an innocent 15-year-old boy after mistaking him for his brother.

Michael Dosunmu was sleeping under a duvet in the bedroom he shared with his brother Hakeem in Peckham, south-east London, when the two men burst in and fired a Mac-10 sub-machine gun.

He was hit by four bullets - one of them fatally piercing his heart and killing him - in the early hours of 6 February last year.

Hakeem, 26, had been out at a club where he was trying to sell drugs when his church-going brother perished.

Mohammed Sannoh, 19, of Peckham, and Abdi Omar Noor, 22, of Camberwell, were found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey after the jury spent nine days deliberating.

Hakeem's links to a robbery gang and the murder of one of the crooks led the gunmen to his door.

Hakeem was sentenced to two years jail in April for his part in the security van robberies. The judge reduced the sentence from five years after hearing that he blames himself for Michael's death.

The court was told that he "carries around with him the thought that it should have been him".

Jonathan Laidlaw, QC, prosecuting, said Sannoh and Noor forced the front door of Michael's family home in Diamond Street, Peckham.

He said: "The intruders turned the light on and opened fire with a Mach-10 at a figure lying wrapped in a duvet.

"That person had no chance of surviving. He had done nothing wrong.

"It was a well-planned and well-executed execution. Over and above the shocking nature of this shooting, the tragedy is that these two defendants killed the wrong person."

The gunmen were taking part in a revenge attack following the murder of another man a few days earlier.

Mr Laidlaw said Hakeem had been involved in drug dealing and three robberies from security firms.

Following the last robbery, three days earlier, Sannoh's friend Javarie Crighton, one of the robbers, had been stabbed to death after confronting organiser Orando Madden about money.

Madden had surrendered to police after the incident and that left only Hakeem as the target for revenge for Sannoh, said Mr Laidlaw.

There were rumours that Madden had cheated the younger robbers and that Hakeem had the money, he added.

Mr Laidlaw said: "These two men thought it was Hakeem who was sleeping in the bedroom and he was shot because of the money they believed they and their friends had been cheated out of - and for revenge for the murder of Javarie Crighton."

Michael had been staying at the house with his older sister Shakira while their mother was in Nigeria and their father was in hospital. Hakeem had not been home for a few days.

Miss Dosunmu told police she was woken by the sound of gunfire. Then her bedroom door was forced open and she saw a man wearing a green army jacket with a scarf over his face.

She said she hid under her duvet "terrified". She did not move until she heard Michael gasping for breath.

"She went into his room. There was blood coming from his back and bullet holes in the wall," said Mr Laidlaw.

Sannoh told police: "This boy's brother killed my friend.

"I don't care about the murder. I don't care what happened to that boy."

Hakeem told the court he spent the weekend clubbing and was told about Michael's death by Shakira.

He had been acting as the getaway driver for the robbers and hoped to use the money to deal drugs.

Sannoh and Noor were remanded in custody until tomorrow when they will be given life terms after the judge decides on their minimum terms.

Rasak Dosunmu punched the air with his fist as each man was convicted of his son's murder.

He said outside court: "It has been emotionally draining coming here every day to wait for the verdict.

"We have to thank God that it is over. This case was so complicated. I thank the police and counsel."

His wife, also called Shakira, wept as she left court.

The jury was reduced to ten - five women and five men. One juror was discharged halfway through the trial after she mistakenly thought one of the defendants had been involved in an incident with her brother. The other was discharged after saying she could not deliberate any further after five days.