Man Sentenced For Firearms Offences

A man has been jailed for 11 years for firearms offences.

On Thursday 1 November, Kola Adisa, 21 of Fulham was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

On 16 April 2011 at 15:30hrs, several members of the public witnessed shots being fired from a white vehicle at two black males who were walking along St Elmo Road, W12.

A white Audi R8 was identified in south London which was at the time being kept by a prestige car rental company who have a tracking device fitted to all of their vehicles. An associate of Adisa had rented the car on the day in question and the data from the tracking device positioned the vehicle travelling from Adisa's home address to the venue of the shooting.

The location of the shooting was within yards of the home address of a man that Adisa was known to have been in dispute with at the time.

Police attended the scene and recovered several casings from the street. There was no evidence that anybody had been injured. Neither of the two men who were described as being shot at were identified or came forward.

Although no firearm was recovered, firearm experts examined the ballistic material recovered from the scene and identified that the weapon used was a Mac10 machine pistol.

On Monday 22 October, the court heard Adisa admit being present in the vehicle but said that he was the passenger, that he got squirted in the eyes with a noxious substance and that he had no involvement in the shooting, nor any prior knowledge that it was going to be carried out. He said that the driver must have fired the gun but because of the substance in his eyes he could not see what happened and it was only later that he learnt that the shots had been fired from the car.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Foote, from the Trident Gang Crime Command, said: "This was a terrifying incident for local residents to witness in their street. We are grateful for their prompt response in contacting the police immediately after hearing the sounds of gunshots which assisted us in arresting Kola Adisa for this offence.

"Forensic evidence showed that a Mac 10 automatic machine pistol had been used in this targeted shooting in this residential street in Hammersmith. Luckily no one was injured. Adisa showed total disregard to the possible harm he could have caused.

"This was a complicated and thorough investigation conducted by my investigation team. The assistance from the public in reporting the matter and giving evidence at court was of great support to the case.

"This investigation clearly demonstrates that the police, their partners and the public can tackle gun and gang crime together."

(GK/IT)