Killer of 'peacemaker' in car row given more jail time

A man who murdered a "peacemaker" during a row over a car has had his sentence increased by the Court of Appeal.

Raami Mohamed, 22, was jailed for life at Manchester Crown Court in June with a minimum term of 18 years after being found guilty of killing Badri Issa, 22, in October last year.

Mr Issa had attempted to intervene after his friend Omar Jeylaani and Mohamed argued over payments for a car before he was stabbed in the chest.

The Attorney General referred Mohamed's sentence to the Court of Appeal, arguing it was "unduly lenient".

Judges increased Mohamed's minimum jail term to 21 years less time spent on remand.

Lord Justice Males, sitting alongside Mrs Justice May and Mr Justice Bryan, said: "This is a case where the offender took a knife to the scene and used it by striking the victim in the centre of his chest.

"In those circumstances there was a clear risk of death, even if that was not intended, and in the event the offender's actions made it closer to inevitable."

The judge said Mohamed and Kevell Blake had been driving down Princess Road, Manchester, and signalled for Mr Issa and Mr Jeylaani to stop in their vehicle.

Mohamed attacked Mr Jeylaani as he left the car and stabbed Mr Issa, who had attempted to stop the argument.

Mohamed then fled the scene before he was arrested the following day by police.

Blake, who was 20 at the time of the trial, was jointly charged with Mr Issa's murder.

He was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter and has yet to be sentenced, according to the Attorney General's Office.

William Emlyn Jones KC, representing the Attorney General, said that while Mohamed's youth was given as a reason for shortening the original sentence, "character testimonies suggested the opposite" should have happened.

The barrister added: "This was a mature and potentially impressive young man.

"It's a tragedy that this has been thrown away because he went out with a knife and he stabbed an innocent young man in the chest.

"Only because he did those things has a young man died."

Nick Johnson KC, representing Mohamed, said he accepted "18 years is a lenient sentence, but taking into account all the relevant features, it cannot be properly characterised as unduly lenient".

Lord Justice Males told the court how Mr Issa's family, some of whom watched Friday's hearing remotely, previously described him "as an anchor who held us together", and whose "anguish was compounded when the offender at trial described Mr Issa as a violent aggressor".

He added that Mr Issa's actions were described by witnesses as being those of a "peacemaker".

In increasing the sentence, the judge said: "Though this was a chance incident, this remains a case where the offender had a knife with him available for use if necessary.

"He did not have to go out armed with a knife and he initiated the encounter."

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