Men given lengthy jail sentences after man chased and shot in Birmingham
The victim was pursued by Christ Lidiu before being fired at in Constitution Hill during the early hours of New Year's Day 2024.
Two men have been jailed after another man was chased after and shot in Birmingham city centre.
The victim was pursued by Christ Lidiu before being fired at in Constitution Hill during the early hours of New Year's Day 2024.
The man – aged in his 20s - had even run into a passing car in his attempts to escape and sustained a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Thankfully his injuries were not life-threatening.
Lidiu fled in a getaway car driven by his accomplice Exauce Mazebo and, following prompt enquiries, we traced the Seat Leon four days later.
Lidiu was arrested in Solihull while Mazebo was detained after we executed a firearms warrant at an address in Erdington.
Our enquiries – which included reviewing phone records and CCTV - established that both men were in the Constitution Hill area earlier in the evening.
They were involved in a fight, and then travelled to Lidiu’s home where they collected a gun and returned to the scene.
Following their arrests we recovered clothing which matched CCTV of what the offenders were wearing during the early hours of New Year's Day.
Mazebo had even tried to hide his mobile phone in a freezer and messages revealed plans to leave Birmingham following the shooting.
Both men denied any involvement but were convicted of attempted murder following a trial.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday (10 March) Lidiu, aged 26, of Bridgelands Way, Perry Barr, was jailed for 27 years.
Mazebo, 24, of New Heart Road, West Bromwich, was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Detective Inspector Francis Nock, from our Major Crime Unit, said: "Lidiu and Mazebo have quite rightly been put behind bars for a significant amount of time.
"It was thanks to the fast-paced, but thorough, work of our officers that we were able to quickly identify them as being involved in the shooting, which on another occasion could have been a murder.
"Guns ruin lives and we're working day in, day out, to take weapons off the streets and prosecute those involved in possessing, supplying or using them."