Man who punched & shot teen in Birmingham street jailed

A Birmingham man has been jailed for 13 years after a 15-year-old boy was shot in broad daylight in a street in Aston. The teen was shot at after a red VW Polo pulled up in Hubert Street on the morning of 22 February 2020. One bullet from the automatic pistol passed through the leg of the teenager’s shorts, narrowly missing his thigh, while the other passed through his foot.

Although he did not know his attacker, we found CCTV footage, mobile phone data and traces of DNA which linked Eoin Bailey to the attack. On the day of the shooting the young victim had gone to meet his father in the street around 8.45am, when he was attacked with punches being thrown before two shots were fired.

Thankfully he was treated in hospital for the gunshot wound and has since recovered, physically at least, from the attack. During a forensic search of the area we found two spent cartridges, as well as a bullet lodged under an oil barrel. Officers scouring CCTV, saw that the registration plate of the Polo was visible and found the registered keeper. Andrew Fisher QC, prosecuting, previously told Birmingham Crown Court the motive for the shooting was unclear although there appeared to have been recent “issues” within the boy’s family. He said the victim was living with his grandparents at the time at an address in Aston and his parents had split up, which had caused “tensions” within the family.

He said two days before the shooting a group of men went to the address claiming they were there to do a deal about the sale of a Range Rover. Mr Fisher said the victim’s grandfather did not like what was going on and told them all to leave but one of the group told him: “I want 100 grand off you.”

Police visited his address where the car was searched and in the rear footwell was a balaclava which we believe Bailey was wearing at the time of the attack. Testing later revealed that it had traces of his DNA, along with further traces on the nearside rear passenger door of the car.

Officers also found that the CCTV footage we’d retrieved from the area showed Bailey getting into the car earlier that morning. Bailey, aged 28, of Wattville Road, Handsworth, denied any involvement, and after a three-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court he was cleared of attempted murder but found guilty of grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm with intent to cause violence yesterday (20 Dec).

Detective Sergeant Leigh Harrison, from Force CID, said: “Although we can’t be sure of the motive for this attack, Bailey intended serious violence that morning. “The very fact that he had a loaded gun means he was looking to cause severe harm, and it is purely down to good fortune that the teenager wasn’t more seriously hurt, or even killed. “We will not tolerate the use of firearms on our streets and we will do all we can to track down and prosecute those who choose to use them to harm or intimidate others.” Two further defendants on trial with Bailey were found not guilty of all charges.

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