Two Turkish gang members involved in the shooting of an unarmed shopkeeper in Stoke Newington have been jailed.
A 35-year-old shopkeeper was shot in the hand outside Akdeniz Supermarket in Stoke Newington High Street on September 28 last year.
He was trying to intervene as rival Turkish gang members confronted each other outside his shop.
The man who shot the victim – who police believe was not the intended target -remains at large and officers believe he fled to Turkey shortly after the incident.
But officers arrested Caner Karakas, 31 and Kubilay Taban, 30, the following month for their involvement in the incident, and they were both found guilty at the Old Bailey last week, following two trials.
The first trial in July ended with a hung jury, while the second trial began on September 28 and ended last Wednesday (October 16) with sentencing.
Karakas, of Blenheim House, Hardinge Crescent, Woolwich, was found guilty of possession of a firearm and sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
He pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, to run consecutively.
Taban, of Ordnance Road, Enfield, Middlesex was found not guilty of possession of a firearm but pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, and was subsequently sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment.
Det Ch Insp Gary Bruce of Trident Gang Crime Command, North East Shootings Team said: “This attack was carried out by dangerous, violent gang members who had set out armed with a loaded firearm, determined to endanger the lives of other Londoners.
“Today’s convictions demonstrate the tenacity of the Trident investigation team in unearthing the evidence needed to convict, assisted by our partners at the Crown Prosecution.
“More than 1,000 London gang members are now either locked up or subject to legal restrictions as a result of activity by the Met’s Trident Gang Crime Command.
“Tacking gang-related violence remains a key priority for the Met and we will continue to target and convict those who choose to carry weapons and cause harm in London’s communities.”
Ilker Karakas, 35 and Kemal Hassan, 31, were acquitted of possession of the firearm at the first trial at the Old Bailey in July.
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