A jury has been told the brother of a murderer and the ‘boss of a shooter and a driver’ were at the ‘centre’ of a botched murder plot.
Suhayl Suleman, of Shear Brow, Blackburn, and Junior Louis Otway, of Clitheroe Road, Manchester, stand trial at Preston Crown Court accused of being involved in a botched hit which led to the death of 19-year-old Aya Hachem.
Both men deny all charges against them.
On Wednesday (March 1), prosecutor Timothy Cray KC told the jury in his opening statement how Aya was walking past Quickshine tyres and RI Tyres in King Street, Blackburn, on May 17, 2020, when she was shot and killed in a botched murder plot, set to kill Pachah Khan.
The jury was told about a trial heard in 2021 where seven men, Feroz Suleman, Ayaz Hussain, Abubakr Satia, Uthman Satia, Kashif Manzoor, Zamir Raja and Anthony Ennis were found guilty of the murder of Aya Hachem and the attempted murder of Mr Khan as a result of a feud between the neighbouring garages.
One woman, Judy Chapman was found guilty of manslaughter.
The prosecution said Suleman and Otway are ‘central’ to the plan which saw Aya killed the murder plot ‘went wrong’.
Timothy Cray KC: "These defendants, we say they are central to this murder plot.
"Suhayl Suleman, he is the brother of Feroz Suleman. In addition to ties of family loyalty, Suleman viewed the business intimately and is in the feud who helped organise the killing from the Blackburn side.
READ MORE: Jury to hear prosecution case in Aya Hachem murder trial
"Louis Otway is a manager on the Manchester side, we say the boss of the killers sent to do the job, Raja and Ennis.
"Our case is that Otway is who the RI Tyres reach out to when they want to get some killing done."
The jury was also told about the day of the shooting, with Mr Cray saying that Aya was the ‘unintended victim, dead as a result of a drive-by shooting carried out by callous murderers’.
Timothy Cray KC: "Aya had no connection to Pachah Khan or the business of Quickshine tyres or anyone else in the case.
"She was tragically unlucky - she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"We say she was at the right place at the right time going about her lawful everyday business, of course, she should have been able to do this without being shot dead.
"She is the unintended victim, dead as a result of a drive-by shooting carried out by callous murderers."
In the months before the shooting, messages were sent by Suleman talking about Quickshine tyres saying ‘get these lot wasted now’ and ‘I’m gonna get J boys to deal with this’ after continuing arguments between the garages, which the prosecution say is about the murder plot.
Mr Cray also says that ‘J boys’ is a reference to Otway, saying that his alleged ‘boys’ are Raja and Ennis.
At the time of the shooting, Suleman was at his home while Otway was travelling from Manchester to Birmingham, with Mr Cray KC saying this was so they could ‘stay out of the way’.
Mr Cray KC said that after Aya was hit by the second bullet, the group went into ‘panic mode’ with calls being made before ‘meetings’ are held.
Hussain first calls Feroz Suleman, then Suhayl Suleman, then Otway. After that call, Otway calls Raja before Raja calls Hussain.
He said: "We say there definitely was a plot to kill and these two are part of it.
"As far as Suleman is concerned, he does his best to stay out of the way on the day of the shooting.
"On February 17 - 'he is saying get this lot wasted now'.
"April 19 he says - 'I'm gonna get J boys to deal with this'.
"That is what happened, it is J boys - Raja and Ennis who dealt with it.
"He asks his wife to wake him up at 3.15pm or 3.30pm - we say this is not a coincidence. He wants to know what happened.
"For Mr Otway, we say Raja and Ennis were J boys.
"Prior to the incident, Raja and Ennis had no real connection to Blackburn.
"The contact comes through Otway.
"In the lead-up, Otway goes to Blackburn and meets Hussain and Raja comes.
"On the day of the murder, he is careful to distance himself.
"When things go wrong he is the one that is called."
The trial, which started on Tuesday (February 28), is set to last four weeks.
Suleman and Otway have both pleaded not guilty to murder.
The trial continues.
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