A Birmingham teen has been convicted of murder following a 4-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court in which Timothy Hannam KC and Daniel White prosecuted.
Oumar Traore, who was 17 at the time of the incident, fatally stabbed Yassin Alama in November of last year. Both parties, affiliated with rival gangs, brandished weapons during a fight taking place on Hutton Road, before Yassin was stabbed in the abdomen and collapsed.
In the lead up to the fatal fight there were several disputes involving Oumar, Yassin, and their associated gang members, of which the police recovered CCTV footage and social media communications.
In the immediate aftermath of the stabbing, Oumar fled the scene and posted to social media sharing a video of the bloodstained murder weapon, boasting of what he had done. He then went on to evade police for a week, using travel and accommodation arranged by friends, one of whom, Oliwier Gabis, has been convicted for perverting the course of justice.
Officers were able to track Oumar to an address in Quinton Road, Birmingham, where he was arrested. In the investigation that followed, the murder weapon was recovered, as well as evidence of Oumar’s gang affiliation, his obsession with knives, and the fact that he was selling machetes and zombie knives, similar to that of the murder weapon.
Timothy Hannam KC and Daniel White were instructed by the Serious Violence, Organised Crime & Exploitation Unit of CPS West Midlands.
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