Murderer who shot victim in face fails in bid to cut jail term

Ty Blake was jailed for life last March for shooting dead James Teer in Erdington on the evening of August 8, 2019, alongside fellow murderer Sharn Miles, who was driving their getaway car.

Blake, who was 19 at the time, fired a shotgun at point blank range into Mr Teer's face as he played football in the street with friends. He was imprisoned for a minimum of 32 years.

Blake, formerly of Shustoke Road in Shard End, claimed the punishment was too harsh and lodged a bid with the Court of Appeal to reduce the length of his sentence.

But on Wednesday, February 3, that appeal was rejected.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Griffiths led the investigation, with his team uncovering CCTV showing the pair walking into a takeaway and ordering chicken and chips just 20 minutes after the killing.

They also recovered the getaway car and found a blood-stained tissue inside that returned a DNA hit to Blake, who used the toilet paper to dab away the blood when the shotgun recoiled into his mouth.

DCI Griffiths welcomed the Court of Appeal ruling, saying: "This was a callous and shocking assassination of a decent young man and I’m pleased the Court of Appeal have upheld the original sentence which was wholly justified.

"There were lots of aggravating factors in this case. It was a premeditated killing and a shotgun was fired in a public street in broad daylight with children and other people nearby.

"Blake has taken a man’s life and he has to face the consequences and accept that most of his life will now be spent locked away from society.

"This is a clear message to anyone who is linked to gangs or firearms – you are risking serious injury, death or spending much of your life behind bars."

A statement from Mr Teers family also welcomed the decision, saying that while their lives had been devastated by his death, they was a small comfort that his killers were away for a long time.