Moat accomplices get life sentences

Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan jailed for aiding Northumberland gunman during his shooting frenzy last year Two accomplices who helped shotgun killer Raoul Moat during his murderous rampage last summer have been jailed for life. Karl Ness, 26, and Qhuram Awan, 23, were convicted at Newcastle crown court on Friday of a series of serious offences following a five-week trial. On Tuesday, Ness, from Dudley, North Tyneside, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 40 years following his conviction for murder, and Awan, from Blyth, Northumberland, was given life with a minimum of 20 years. Ness was with Moat on the night he shot his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and killed her new boyfriend Chris Brown – who he believed was a police officer – last July. Ness was convicted of murdering Brown and a firearms offence. Both men were convicted of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and robbing a chip shop that Moat held up the day after he shot and blinded unarmed police officer PC David Rathband. Mr Justice McCombe said: “Here we have a case where three men formulated a plan to murder policemen indiscriminately, and then, pursuant to the plan, attempted (to within the thinnest thread of human life) to kill one officer, with appalling consequences.” There was no reaction from Ness as he was sentenced. Awan smiled ruefully to his father in the public gallery as he was led away. Earlier, Rathband, the police officer left blinded by Moat, wept as the details of his injuries were outlined to the judge. The trial heard that Moat was intent on revenge when he heard that his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart had a new partner. Moat asked his friend Ness to spy on her while he was still in prison and the day after his release, the pair went looking for her and her boyfriend, Brown, 29. Moat murdered Brown and shot and seriously injured Stobbart, 22, before fleeing. The former bouncer and steroid user was convinced Brown was a police officer and 24 hours later he rang Northumbria police to declare war on the force, adding he was “hunting for officers”. Awan drove Ness and Moat in his black Lexus car when they chanced upon a parked police patrol car. Inside was Rathband, a 43-year-old father-of-two. Awan stopped and Moat crept up on the unarmed officer before twice shooting him at close range. He survived but was blinded. Ness and Awan later helped Moat set up a woodland camp near Rothbury, Northumberland, and went shopping for supplies for him. Although they claimed to have been held hostage, neither man alerted the authorities during these trips away from Moat. In CCTV images shown to the jury, both defendants could be seen calmly browsing the aisles for food or clothes. When they were arrested on the edge of the village, Moat managed to escape. The killer remained at large for another three days until he was cornered and shot himself following a six-hour standoff. Paul Sloan QC, defending Ness, said: “Had it not been for Moat, none of these offences would have been committed.” Jeremy Carter-Manning, defending Awan, also referred to the missing killer, saying: “This trial is Hamlet without the prince.” He said psychiatric tests showed his client was “easily led”. Raoul Moat Crime Gun crime Helen Carter guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 15, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.