VIDEO: Our hearts will never heal, say family of Sheffield revenge shooting victim

Jama Ahmed shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ as he was led from the dock after a jury took seven hours to find him guilty of the murder of Jordan Thomas, 22, last December.

The 26-year-old was given a life sentence and will serve at least 36 years imprisonment before he is considered for parole.

Police and prosecutors argued that Ahmed, who was convicted by a majority verdict, was part of a team that targeted Mr Thomas in revenge for the death of 24-year-old Mubarak Ali in 2011.

The victim’s cousin, James Knowles, was jailed for ten years for the manslaughter of Mr Ali after he was stabbed to death in Sheffield in September 2011.

Mr Thomas, from Firshill, Sheffield, was a passenger in a silver Ford Mondeo when the car was shot at while stationary in Derek Dooley Way at around 10.10pm on December 21, 2014.

He suffered two gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital, but died a short time later from his injuries. The driver of the Mondeo, a 28-year-old Sheffield man, was shot once but survived the attack.

In a statement released today, Mr Thomas’s spoke of the “extremely traumatic experience” of the trial and say Ahmed’s defence lawyers “continually tried to dishonour Jordan’s memory”.

He said: “Life as we knew it changed when Jordan was killed – he was and still is the centre of our world. “There is no longer joy in our lives and we will never again share the happiness of being in his presence.

“Our beautiful boy has gone to heaven without mercy or hesitation; his precious life taken in a planned and determined attack to murder him.

“Our complete and utter loss has destroyed us as a family, and we will never come to terms with his death, and our hearts will never heal from the sadness we feel.

“The defence cast doubt over Jordan’s character, and we wish to make it clear that he was never arrested or convicted of any drug or firearm offences.

“The trial has been an extremely traumatic experience and, for eight long weeks, we have had to sit through every detail of how and why Jordan was killed.

“The defence has continually tried to dishonour Jordan’s memory and have shown a total lack of sympathy or sensitivity towards the family and the loss we have suffered.

“Although our hearts are truly broken, the deep love we have for Jordan gives us the strength to move forward.”

Ahmed, of Broomhall Place, Sheffield was also found guilty of attempting to murder Mr Thomas’ friend, Neshaun Ferguson, following a seven-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Green told Ahmed he cannot be certain of he was the shooter.

He said: “I’m clear you were in the car and were intent on participating fully in this cold-blooded execution.”

He added: “Most of your associates have fled the country to evade justice.”

Justice Green said Ahmed was a ‘sophisticated drug dealer and part of a close-knit group of dealers from the Somali community.’

Ahmed shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ and ‘Talk is cheap’ as he was led from the dock inside the courtroom.

There was also a brief disturbance in court as Ahmed’s associates left the public gallery.

A second man, Asif Yousaf, of Violet Bank Road, was cleared of murder and attempted murder, also by a majority verdict.

The 33-year-old had accepted driving the car used in the murder, but said he had not been inside during the killing.

Justice Green said Yousaf was a drug addict and an ‘innocent dupe’ in the plot to buy the car used in the murder.

Detectives investigating the murder in Sheffield discovered that Mr Thomas was amongst a group of people involved in a dispute with Ahmed and others in the days before his death.

It was uncovered that both victims were at a nightclub in Sheffield two days before Jordan’s murder. CCTV shows that the victims and Ahmed, with others, were involved in a confrontation near to the club in Broomhall, during which shots were fired.

Mr Thomas spent the next night in Birmingham. During this time, detectives found that members of the defendant’s group had gone looking for the victim and made threats towards him.

He returned to Sheffield on the day of his death, the same day that Ahmed bought a Mitsubishi Shogun, which pulled up in De La Salle at around 9.15pm that evening. Witnesses say a group of men were looking for Jordan and had a firearm in their possession.

Police say Ahmed was one of a number of people acting together to kill Mr Thomas and that the defendant’s group travelled to Burngreave, where they saw him inside the silver Mondeo, followed him to Derek Dooley Way and shot at the car.The group fled the scene and dumped the car in Pondorosa Park.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Etheridge, who led the inquiry for South Yorkshire Police, said: “This was not about turf war or gang warfare, this was simply retribution for the death of a man three years before.

“Jordan was the cousin of the man convicted of the crime and those linked to the victim wanted revenge, pure and simple. Jordan was targeted by people with a score to settle.

“He did not deserve to be gunned down in the street - a young life was cut tragically short, leaving a community devastated and changing the lives of his family forever.

“Deaths involving firearms carry the harshest sentences and using a firearm to settle scores will absolutely not be tolerated in South Yorkshire.

“I hope this sends a very clear message to anyone considering going out in our county armed with a firearm that we will carry out extensive enquiries to find you, arrest you, and bring you to justice.”