A ROWLEY Regis man been cleared of the murder of a teenager who was shot dead in Birmingham this year, however he was found guilty of assisting an offender.

Dean Silvera, aged 37, of St Giles Close, and Disharn Downie were accused of shooting dead Kenichi Phillips as he sat in a Seat Ibiza in Ladywood on March 17.

Downie, aged 18 of Gravel Bank, Birmingham was found guilty of murder and was jailed for a minimum of 21 years and Silvera was handed a seven and a half years.

There were three people in the seat Ibiza when a hail of bullets were fired, 18 year-old Phillips was hit in the jaw and the neck but other two occupants escaped unharmed.

All three men quickly ran away from the car after escaping through the driver’s door but, due to the level of injury he had sustained, Kenichi collapsed in a nearby alleyway.

Passers-by who witnessed what had happened tried to revive him as well as paramedics, who arrived a short time later, but nothing could be done to save him and he died at the scene.

Detectives started following up leads immediately and witnesses began to tell of how they saw a car speeding away from the scene straight after the shooting.

That vehicle was identified as a Mazda 2 following a CCTV trawl - and enquiries led officers to an address in the Gravel Bank area of Bartley Green - the home of Downie.

Further CCTV footage from the address and surrounding area showed him leaving the property in the car and heading to the murder scene in Ladywood 20 minutes before it happened.

Downie was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court after he was found guilty of murdering Kenichi Phillips as well as attempted murder and attempted grievous bodily harm in relation to the other two occupants of the car last month.

The 18-year-old, of Gravel Bank, Birmingham was also sentenced to 10 years for possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and 5 years Detective Inspector Jim Munro, who led the investigation, said: “Disharn Downie a showed complete disregard for human life when he fired those shots into that car and it’s only through luck alone that others weren’t seriously hurt as a result of his actions.

“I’m glad that the jury were able to see that this was nothing short of a calculated and pre-meditated murder by Downie. My thoughts are now with Kenichi Phillips’ family who I hope find some comfort in today’s convictions."

DI Munro also sought to reassure the community of the West Midlands Police’s on-going commitment to tackling gun crime.