Four jailed for life over 'punishment shooting'

Four people have been jailed for life for the murder of a rival drug dealer.

Abdullah Hassan, 25, was fatally shot in the leg on Callow Drive, Gleadless Valley, on 9 April 2023 as a "punishment", Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Osai Williams, 29, of East Glade Avenue, Demi Dunford, 29, and Alex Taff, 31, both of Derby Street, and Andrew Horton, 46, of Smelterwood Crescent, received life sentences with minimum prison terms of between 27 and 32 years.

Mr Justice Spencer told the defendants: "There is no doubt that Abdullah Hassan was no saint, involved as he was in drug dealing, but he did not deserve to die at such a young age. There was a significant good side to him too, a kind side."

He said Hassan was young enough to turn his life around, but the "punishment shooting" had "deprived him of that chance".

Details of the sentencing, which took place on 16 January, can only now be published after a reporting restriction was lifted.

Dunford and Williams dealt drugs jointly from her maisonette, about half a mile from where Hassan and his brother were dealing on Callow Drive, the court heard.

A week before Hassan's death, they had each made multiple calls to the Hassan brothers.

"I have no doubt you were warning them off continuing to deal on your patch and threatening them with violence if they did so," the judge said.

At about 23:30 BST on the night of the murder, Williams' "regular driver", Horton, took him from Dunford's home to Park Hill flats to pick up a converted starter pistol.

When they returned, Dunford contacted Taff, a neighbour who owed her a drug debt.

He called Hassan within a minute of speaking to her, which Spencer said "must have been to establish that he was at home and available to deal drugs".

Horton drove Williams and Dunford close to Callow Drive, and Taff called Hassan again to tell him he was downstairs.

"Two minutes later, he emerges from the rear exit and is immediately shot in the leg," the judge said.

"It is impossible to know which of you pulled the trigger.

"It is likely to have been Osai Williams, since you picked up the gun, but the identity of the shooter doesn't matter.

"You were all in on it and are all equally guilty."

The court heard Hassan had crawled up two flights of stairs after the attack before collapsing. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 01:55 GMT.

Before his arrest just over a week later, Williams messaged his sister saying, "we both know I'm in it, big time", and messaged his brother with simply "murder".

The 29-year-old, who has three previous firearms convictions, was also sentenced for GBH with intent after admitting he had thrown boiling water from a kettle into his former cellmate's face.

The judge said: "Despite terms served in custody, you learned nothing, and you were intent upon your release on continuing your drug dealing…even to the extent of murdering a rival drug dealer."

Dunford, who has a 12-year-old daughter, previously went to prison for perverting the course of justice after setting a car on fire which had been used for a drive-by shooting.

Nicholas Rhodes KC, defending, told the judge her entry into serious crime had been influenced by her brother, who was currently in prison for murder.

The judge said he was "impressed" by a letter Dunford wrote to the court in which she apologised for her involvement and detailed her history of suffering domestic violence.

Richard Thyne KC, defending Taff, said he had made "some positive changes between offending and the point he was charged", and had moved in with his partner and her children.

The judge agreed he had been "recruited" only shortly before the incident and had played a "limited role… under direction".

He said Taff, who had struggled with addiction from a young age, had "likely feared" Williams and Dunford.

"It is tragic that these events have caught up with what otherwise would have been a positive re-start to his life," the judge added.

Horton had also had his life "ruined" by drugs, according to Andrew Vout KC, defending.

Hassan's sister said in a statement on behalf of the family that his parents had "relied on him".

"Quietly, without ever seeking praise, he carried more than his fair share of burdens," she said.

"Our family has not only lost a son, a brother, a protector; we have lost our sense of safety, our ability to sleep at night, our ability to function as a family should.

"Grief has become a constant unwelcome guest in our house."

Three of the four convicted murderers were handed other prison terms for separate offences, to run concurrently with the life sentence.

Their sentences are as follows.

• Williams - jailed for a minimum of 31 years and 220 days for murder, GBH with intent, possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and possession of a blade

• Dunford - jailed for a minimum of 31 years minimum for murder, possessing crack and heroin with intent to supply and possessing a weapon

• Horton - jailed for a minimum of 28 for murder, perverting the course of justice, theft and two street robberies

• Taff - jailed for a minimum of 27 years for murder

Horton's sister, Emma Horton, was handed a one-year sentence suspended for two years for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North