Drive-by murder accused was not at scene, jury told

One of the men accused of murdering a woman in a drive-by shooting in Willesden, north-west London, has told his Old Bailey trial he had nothing to do with the killing.

Michelle Sadio, 44, died at the scene and two others were injured when shots were fired from a passing Kia as a crowd of mourners stood outside the River of Life Pentecostal Church following a wake in December 2024.

On Monday, Tahjin Sommersall,19, told the court he had never even seen the car used in the shooting and had been in Wembley when the attack happened.

He and his three co-defendants Perry Allen-Thomas, 27, Shaquille Sutherland, 26, and Amir Salem, 19, all deny murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The court had previously heard that mother-of-two Sadio was not the intended target.

Sommersall accepted that he had been a drug dealer at the time, selling 'weed, crack and heroin'.

He would wear a hi-vis jacket, he said, to look like a food delivery driver and so avoid being stopped by the police.

Asked by his defence counsel Giles Cocking KC if he had links to a north London gang called "A9," he admitted he knew people who were members as he'd grown up with them, but denied being a member himself.

He also admitted having a previous conviction for the possession of a shotgun, which he said he got after being paid £500 to pick up a package from Birmingham.

Sommersall said he only realised the package contained a gun when police surrounded the car he was travelling in, smashed one of the windows and pointed guns at him.

He was asked by the KC about his appearance in two drill videos that were posted on YouTube.

"I appeared in two music videos. They invited me to the music video; they needed more numbers... I was excited...you know when you see them on YouTube, girls and that. Exciting."

But he denied appearing alongside youths wearing blue bandanas, which the jury heard was a colour associated with "A9".

Sommersall also told the jury about his background, saying he had been "kicked out" of both his parental homes.

He also said he had been excluded from school and had been educated in a pupil referral unit.

The trial continues.

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