Man jailed for 30 years minimum over Birmingham driver's murder in drug deal gone wrong
A man has been jailed for a minimum term of 30 years for the murder of a Birmingham driver who was ambushed in a drug deal that went wrong.
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Richard Hopley was acting a driver for a dealer when he was stabbed while trying to get away from attackers Mohammed Qasim, Ayub Khan, Nicholas Stallard and Paul Hayles, in Underwood Close, Harborne, on September 22, 2022.
The 43-year-old had met the group at an agreed location when he was knifed.
He managed to drive the Volkswagen Passat a short distance after sustaining serious chest injuries before collapsing at the wheel and crashing his car.
Khan, aged 29, who was carrying a knife at the time, but did not stab the victim and fled the country shortly afterwards.
He was arrested on his return to England last autumn. He was subsequently convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
On Tuesday (February 25) Khan was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years.
The killer Mohammed Qasim, aged 25, had also left the UK in the aftermath and was nabbed on his return.
Following a separate trial in April last year Qasim, of St Saviour's Road, Saltley, who carried out the stabbing, was jailed for a minimum term of 30 years imprisonment for murder and conspiracy to rob.
Stallard, aged 43, of Metchley Drive, and Hayles, aged 66, of Malins Road, both in Harborne, were convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob following a trial at the same court two years ago.
Stallard was jailed for 13 years and Hayles 10 years for their actions in 2022.
