A gunman who shot a man in a Birmingham street over a suspected drugs dispute has been jailed for more than 20 years after police tracked him down and found the revolver.
Police released CCTV showing the moment Mickelle Sharp opened fire at another man in Camp Lane, Handsworth, on the afternoon of 3 August last year.
The victim was shot twice through the arm but luckily was not seriously hurt and made a full recovery – but the outcome could easily have been much worse.
Sharp can be seen pulling the trigger from close range as his target cowers down by a fence and wheelie bins – and then discharges two more rounds as the victim runs to a car before speeding away.
We identified Sharp as the gunman and traced him to a flat in Aspen Close, Acocks Green, two days later where he surrendered on realising the block was surrounded by our firearms officers.
A search of the flat revealed more than 100 wraps of crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis plus around £16,000 in cash which we’ve seized.
We also searched a car linked to the 33-year-old and found a man bag containing the black handled revolver. It was loaded with five rounds, three of which had been discharged.
Sharp went on to admit possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life plus drugs supply and on 6 April at Birmingham Crown Court was jailed for 21 years and will have to abide by an extended five year licence period on his eventual release.
Detective Sergeant Matt Dyer from Force CID, said: “This was a reckless discharge of a firearm in broad daylight in a busy street; innocent pedestrians or motorists could easily have been caught up in this and seriously injured.
“It’s clear there was some kind of bad blood between these two and we suspect its drug related. The victim was very lucky to escape serious injury and we could easily have been looking at a murder case.
“We initially charged Sharp with attempted murder but a plea of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life was accepted by the Crown and the police.
“Anyone that is in the business of dealing drugs in our communities can expect to be proactively targeted and those who go on to actively use deadly firearms can expect to receive lengthy prison sentences.”
