Men Jailed For Mother And Daughter Gunpoint Attack

Two men who subjected a young mother and her three-year-old daughter to a gunpoint robbery in their own home have been sentenced today.

The pair were given jail time, at Woolwich Crown Court, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Trident South Shootings Team.

Olumide Buraimoh, 20, of Sceux Gardens, SE5, and Sanchez Adams, 19 (8/7/93), of Knatchbull Road, SE5, were sentenced to eight years for robbery and six years for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, to run concurrently, following the attack on 24 September last year at a flat in Herne Hill.

Buraimoh and Adams arrived at the flat at around 14.00hrs on the pretext of buying drugs from a friend of the 24-year-old woman who lived there with her infant daughter.

Once inside, Adams produced a handgun and threatened to kill the woman and her child. He struck the woman on the neck, while Buraimoh picked up the three-year-old girl and took her to another part of the flat.

He then returned to the mother and held her down on the floor with a knife to her neck, whilst Adams ripped her watch from her wrist. During the ordeal, the woman heard shots being fired inside her flat. Police later found evidence of gunfire, including a .32 inch calibre bullet which had been lodged in the front door of the flat.

Following a thorough and meticulous police investigation the victim recognised her assailants during an identification procedure, and her evidence in court, supported by forensic evidence assembled by Trident officers, proved key to the convictions on 18 July.

Detective Inspector Raymond Keating, of the Trident South Shootings Team, said: "It is due to the courage of this young woman giving evidence in court that these dangerous men have been convicted and sentenced today. Everyone who worked on this case was struck not only by the unnecessary violence of this attack, but by the determination of the victim to see justice for herself and her three-year-old daughter.

"Trident officers have extensive experience of helping and protecting victims and witnesses who feel vulnerable, and this case illustrates how, with the help of the public, those who cause harm and misery in the community can be convicted and imprisoned."

(GK)