A gang which carried out a brazen attack in broad daylight shooting a man in the back then stabbing him five times in Bromley-by-Bow have been jailed for a total of 61 years.
Brenton Roper challenged the four who were dealing drugs from a car parked outside his home in a quiet cul-de-sac off Campbell Road on a warm spring afternoon.
The 41-year-old family man was shot and chased along Eagling Close, then mercilessly stabbed as he collapsed in front of a neighbour’s house.
The gang were sentenced yesterday at the Old Bailey after being convicted by a jury on July 13 of taking part in the fatal shooting in May last year.
“My life feels so very empty without him,” Brenton’s fiancé Mandy Bourne said after the sentencing.
“I go through the day-to-day motions for the sake of my children, but really feel like I no longer have a future without Brenton.
“I am numb—there is a deep, dark hole in my heart.”
Mohammed Shaid, a 27-year-old from nearby Arrow Road in Bromley-by-Bow, was found guilty of murder and jailed for 30 years.
Three others were found guilty of manslaughter—Monzur Ahmed, 27, from Whitethorn Street, who was given nine years, Foyzur Rahman, 28, from Beveridge Mews in Stepney Green, jailed for 10 years, and Shah Rahman, also 28, from Longbridge Road in Dagenham, sentenced to 12 years.
Det Insp Dan Setter said: “This was a brazen attack in broad daylight, shooting a man in the back, stabbing him and chasing him down the street.
“The four tried to portray this as ‘self-defence’ and an accidental shooting—which the jury clearly saw through.
“Mr Roper’s death stemmed from a dispute over their drug dealing in the street.”
Shaid, Ahmed and Foyzur Rahman were arrested a month later. Shah Rahman, who had fled abroad after the shooting, was tracked down in September, having been on the run for three months.
Neighbours paid tribute to Brenton after the shooting. Amir Uddin, 59, said: “It’s a sad loss, because he was a lovely man, always helpful. He always helped if he saw someone carrying heavy bags with shopping, whatever he was doing.”
Air ambulance paramedics from the Royal London Hospital tried for an hour to save Brenton’s life. But he died at the scene.
A post-mortem at Poplar Mortuary gave cause of death as gunshot injuries. Mr Roper had been shot in the back, then stabbed five times.
Detectives traced a black VW owned by Shaid parked in Rounton Road shortly before the murder. Two men in hoods, Shaid and Shah Rahman, were seen on CCTV walking towards Eagling Close.
The cameras captured the same two running from the murder scene a short time later, their movements tracked to Bromley High Street half-a-mile-away.
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