COVENTRY Police have named a teenager who shot dead a 19-year-old in Coventry.
Carren Monga opened fire at Abdul Xasan from the back seat of a stolen VW Golf in March 2020 and when sentenced in January was told he’d spend a minimum of 27 years behind bars.
Officers were able to name 15-year-old accomplice Riaz Ahmed, who was driving the Golf, but as Monga had outstanding court matters against him the judge imposed an identify ban on the gunman.
Now, as the 19-year-old was sentenced, on two counts of conspiracy to burgle, the judge lifted the reporting restrictions.
Monga shot Mr Xasan – himself just 19-years-old – as he walked in Harnall Lane, Hillfields just after 2.30pm on March 13, 2020.
A post mortem revealed he suffered two gunshot wounds to his back which caused catastrophic internal injuries and he died in the street.
Ahmed – now aged 16 – is serving a minimum of 18 years in youth detention followed by prison.
Both he and Monga were linked to the C2 gang in Coventry while the victim – arrested just days before the murder for possessing an imitation gun – was connected to a rival group known as RB7.
Det Sup Scott Griffiths, who led the investigation, said: “I’m grateful to the judge for allowing us to now identify Carren Monga as the murderer.
“It’s important we show justice being served to Mr Xasan’s family, friends and the wider public.
“These sentences must act as a stark warning about the dangers of gang affiliation – you run the risk of serious injury or death, or the possibility of spending much of your life locked up. There has to be a better option for young people.”
He added the police, along with charities and support groups, could help those who wanted to turn their backs on gang culture to make better choices.
“But for those who insist on affiliating themselves to violent gangs there is a very strong possibility they are going to be seriously injured, killed or spend much of their life locked up in jail.”
Getaway driver Ahmed sped away from the murder scene in the Golf Type R – stolen in Rugby the previous day – and arranged for others to set it on fire in an attempt to destroy forensic evidence.
The pair were quickly identified as potential suspects and both were arrested in the early hours of the next morning when their Coventry addresses were raided.
Both were electronically tagged at the time due to their suspected involvement in other offences and police seized tagging information that showed they were in the street at the time of the murder.
Shotgun cartridges found in the burned out car were also matched by ballistics experts to spent cartridges recovered from the murder scene.
Despite strong evidence against them the pair denied murder but they were found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a four-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Monga received jail terms of 24 and 36 months for the Coventry burglary conspiracy – he struck at addresses in Beake Avenue, Greens Road and Boswell Drive in Coventry – which will run concurrently to his life sentence.
