33 years in prison for ‘senseless’ killing of footballer’s brother
THREE MEN have been told they will spend more than 30 years in prison for the “senseless” gangland murder of the 19-year-old brother of a Leeds United footballer.
Raheem Wilks, 19, was shot once through the heart in a barber’s shop in the Harehills district of Leeds earlier this year in a killing described by prosecutors as having “all the hallmarks of a gangland shooting”.
His brother is the 18-year-old Leeds United forward Mallik Wilks, who is currenly on loan to Accrington Stanley.
West Yorkshire Police said Keal Richards, 21, of Francis Street, Leeds, was found guilty of murder at Leeds Crown Court along with Jaydn Manners, 24, of Louis Street, Leeds, and Tremaine Wisdom, 29, of Stainbeck Road, Leeds.
They were all given life sentences and told they must serve a minimum of 33 years before they are considered for release, the force said.
Two other defendants, Keiran Hunt, 29, of Roundhay Road, Leeds, and Cornelia Benjamin, 21, of Reginald Street, Leeds, were both found not guilty by the jury.
Police found no eyewitnesses willing to help them, despite the area being busy at the time.
Opening the trial, prosecutor Dafydd Enoch QC said the teenager was specifically targeted and was a member of a gang called The Flock.
Mr Enoch said it happened in January at lunchtime, in broad daylight and in front of a number of witnesses but “nobody who was present at the shooting has been able to help the police”.
The prosecutor said: “This has all the hallmarks of a gangland shooting.”
The jury was told how, within a couple of hours of the killing, Richards recorded himself on Snapchat apparently celebrating it.
He said in the message Richards is seen watching a YouTube video in which rapper C Biz is celebrating his acquittal weeks before at the Old Bailey of involvement in a drive-by shooting.
The prosecutor told the jury that Mr Wilks had “got himself at a young age into bad company”.
Raheem’s mother Tracy Coley said after the case: “All the violence and killing needs to stop. I hope and pray it does. I do not want any other parent or family to have to live through what we do daily.”