Men guilty of drive-by gun murder at house party

Two men have been found guilty of murdering a man in a drive-by shooting outside a house party.

Robert Powell, 50, had just left the property in Roydon, near Harlow in Essex, when he was gunned down in June 2020.

The strike was co-ordinated by Nana Oppong, 43, who deployed Israar Shah, 39, as a spotter to keep an eye out for the victim.

They were found guilty of murder by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court earlier and will be sentenced on Friday.

Both men were also convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Oppong, of West Road, Stratford, was found guilty of wounding with intent - relating to an injured bystander - and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The jury was told Mr Powell had suffered 15 bullet wounds - with some caused by the same bullet passing through his body - when he was shot at about 04:45 BST in Water Lane on 13 June that year.

Police saw him being bundled into the backseat of a Ford Mondeo when they arrived, prosecutor Justin Rouse KC said.

Mr Powell, who had been with his sons when he was shot, died in hospital the next day.

Oppong "slipped out of the country" after the killing, but was later found hiding in the back of a lorry as it entered Morocco, Mr Rouse said.

The prosecutor accused Oppong of being a "high level" drug dealer who would "use violence when necessary".

"He was the instigator, protagonist, and principal organiser of this killing," Mr Rouse said.

The court was told a motive for the killing had not been established, but that Oppong had a "grievance" with Mr Powell.

A Ford Kuga with cloned number plates was seen emerging from behind a Toyota Prius being driven by Shah when Mr Powell left the party, the jury heard.

It was at that moment a gunman exited the Ford - which had Oppong inside - and opened fire.

"This was no spontaneous act of violence... It must have been a terrifying spectacle to witness," Mr Rouse added.

Shah, of Kelvedon Hatch near Brentwood, Essex, was later found in Spain before he was extradited to the UK to face trial.

During the trial, he claimed he was at the scene "to simply sell drugs and have a good night".

The jury heard others were involved in the shooting and police were still searching for a third suspect, Temitope Adeyinka, as part of their investigation.

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