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Page last updated at 13:08 GMT, Tuesday, 17 June 2008 14:08 UK

'Wrong victim' murder pair guilty

Abdi Omar Noor (left) and Mohammed Sannoh
Noor and Sannoh used MAC-10 machine pistol to shoot dead Michael

Two men have been found guilty of murdering a 15-year-old boy who was shot dead as he slept at his home in south-east London.

Michael Dosunmu was shot four times when gunmen burst into the family home in Peckham in February 2007.

The Old Bailey heard that Michael was mistaken for his older brother who was to be killed in revenge for a murder.

Mohammed Sannoh, 19, from Peckham, and Abdi Omar Noor, 22, from Camberwell, south-east London, had denied murder.

They were remanded in custody for sentencing on Wednesday.

Michael was asleep in the bedroom he shared with his brother Hakeem, when Sanoh and Noor burst in and fired a MAC-10 machine pistol.

He was hit by four bullets - one of them piercing his heart and killing him.

Michael Dosunmu's mother on the verdict

Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said: "The intruders turned the light on and opened fire with a MAC-10 at a figure lying wrapped in a duvet.

"That person had no chance of surviving. He had done nothing wrong.

"It was a well-planned and well-executed execution. Over and above the shocking nature of this shooting, the tragedy is that these two defendants killed the wrong person."

The court heard that Michael's older brother Hakeem, 26, had been out at a club where he was trying to sell drugs when his church-going brother was killed.

It was Hakeem Dosunmu's links to a robbery gang and the murder of one of their members, that led the gunmen to the family home, jurors heard

Following the last robbery, three days earlier, one of the robbers, Javarie Crighton, was stabbed to death after confronting organiser Orando Madden about money.

Madden had surrendered to police after the incident and left only Hakeem Dosunmu as the target for revenge, said Mr Laidlaw.

There were rumours that Madden had cheated the rest of the gang and that Hakeem Dosunmu had the money, he added.

Michael Dosunmu

Michael's brother decided to turn his back on his criminal associates and cooperate with the police.

He admitted his part in the robberies and gave evidence at the trial of his brother's killers.

He was sentenced to two years in jail in April for his part in the security van robberies.

The judge reduced the sentence from five years after hearing that he blamed himself for Michael's death.

Defence barrister Robin Barclay said: "He carries around with him the thought that it should have been him."

Outside court, Michael's father Rasak Dosunmu said the family was sticking by Hakeem.

"Presently, he is feeling guilty that he brought all this on us," he said.

"But this is not the way we brought him up. He is our son, we love him. We cannot discard him. He made a mistake in life."

The father said Michael's murder had been "like stabbing us in the heart".

"Michael was a lovely boy," he said.

"He was level-headed and the type of boy every parent would want to have.

"He died with unfulfilled dreams."




SEE ALSO
Two men deny schoolboy's murder
12 Oct 07 |  London

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