A 34 year old man from Newtown, Birmingham has been acquitted by a jury of murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, following a 4 week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

The defendant was represented by Gurdeep Garcha K.C., leading Mohammed Naser – instructed by Sadia Mahmood- of M & N Solicitors, Birmingham.

The prosecution alleged that the defendant was a senior figure in a well-established Birmingham Street gang who had murdered the 16 year old victim after he had entered “enemy territory”.

The victim was said to be a prominent member of a rival gang who had deliberately encroached into Newtown in an effort to trigger a confrontation. It was alleged that upon learning of his presence the defendant immediately arranged for the victim to be pursued. He was initially chased and shot at with a handgun but escaped. A short time later the four man “manhunt” ensnared the victim at a petrol station forecourt. A confrontation ensued and the victim was stabbed once through the heart causing catastrophic blood loss.

It was the defendant’s case that he was not part of a “manhunt” and in fact had himself been pursued by the victim. In an unplanned confrontation he was attacked by the victim who was wielding a combat knife and so acted in lawful self-defence in trying to protect himself.

The case featured detailed evidence of historic and current gang culture in Birmingham, gang association and affiliation and postcode based violence. Mr Garcha K.C. successfully argued that evidence of the defendant’s gang association as a much younger man was inadmissible and should not go before the jury.

He also successfully argued that the convictions of defendants who had previously been tried for murder arising out of this incident, should be excluded.

By very careful analysis of very extensive CCTV footage and eye-witness evidence, Mr Garcha K.C. was able to establish that the victim had instigated the violence in which he himself was fatally stabbed.

After a lengthy jury deliberation, Mr Garcha K.C.’s client was unanimously acquitted of murder by the jury and convicted of manslaughter as well as possession of a knife.