Man who fled to Pakistan after drive-by shooting involving military-style weapon and his accomplice jailed
Two men have been jailed for more than three decades for their role in a drive-by shooting in Birmingham which saw a military-style weapon used.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Usman Khan was jailed for 30 years for the attempted murder of a man in Washwood Heath on April 30 last year.
His accomplice, Amaan Ajaz, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for assisting an offender.
Police were called after a man in his 30s presented himself at Heartlands Hospital with gunshot wounds to his stomach and leg.
He had been travelling in a Volkswagen Golf in Shaw Hill Road when a silver Toyota pulled up next to the car and opened fire.
Police tracked the movements of the Toyota and the men in it, watching them get into a different car, a Seat, in Whitacre Road, Birmingham.
This car belonged to Ajaz, who drove them around the city until the trail was lost.
Following forensic work carried out on the abandoned car, Ajaz was stopped driving the Seat on May 5. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Clothing was discovered in the Seat and further examinations on other items found helped officers identify Khan.
Khan fled to Pakistan on May 10 but was arrested in October after returning to Birmingham via Dubai.
Ajaz, aged 20, denied everything in interview, claiming he was simply running errands for a friend on the night and taking their clothes to a laundrette, while Khan, aged 22, remained silent in his own interview.
Despite this, officers built a compelling case against the two, leading to them being charged on October 5 last year.
Following their conviction in April this year, the pair were jailed on Wednesday at Birmingham Crown Court.
The shooting involved the use of a Skorpion submachine gun, a military weapon capable of firing up to 800 rounds per minute.
Det Insp Francis Nock, from the Major Crimes Unit at West Midlands Police, said: "This was a brazen attempt on a man's life which could easily have led to his death.
"Thanks to the hard work of all the officers involved, we were able to identify, locate and arrest Khan and Ajaz.
"Firearms have no place on our streets and we are committed to tracking down and arresting those who would use them to commit crimes."
