Murder accused ‘G-checked’ Sekou Doucoure then shot gun towards him, court told

A teenager accused of murdering a boy has claimed he ‘G-checked’ him before firing a gun towards him, a court heard. Pierre Thomas explained to a jury that the term meant establishing who someone was, amid tensions between rival gangs associated with neighbouring B19 and B20 postcodes in Newtown, Birmingham.

The 18-year-old accepted he pointed a gun and shot at 16-year-old Sekou Doucoure, but claimed he thought the weapon was only blank-firing and that he only pulled the trigger to scare the youth away, the court heard. Thomas also stated he was ‘forced’ to do so by a man who allegedly ‘went on to stab Sekou to death’ at the Esso petrol station on Nursery Road, Hockley on July 22 last year.

Thomas stands trial at Coventry Crown Court where he and a 16-year-old boy – who cannot be named – deny murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. The man said to have allegedly fatally stabbed Sekou has been identified but is yet to be arrested, the court has heard.

He cannot be named for legal reasons but has been referred to as ‘profile 5’ or ‘P5’ in the case. Giving evidence today, Wednesday, Thomas said the man called him and told him to meet at Burbury Park because he had seen ‘dem man walking past me’.

The defendant explained profile 5 was referring to: “People who are not supposed to be in the area.”

Thomas continued: “He seemed agitated and was talking really fast. Basically he pulled out a glove and gave me the glove and then he pulled out the gun and told me it was a blank. He told me to go and chase them out the area, basically scare them away.

“I told him I don’t want to do it. He said ‘you better go and do it, don’t p*** me off, remember I know where you live’. He was angry with me. I was scared. Scared for my safety and my family’s safety.”

Asked by his legal counsel Katy Thorne why he felt he was being instructed by the man Thomas added: “I have an idea. He probably thought he could manipulate me and make me do what he wants because I’m scared of him.”

The defendant confirmed at the junction of Villa Street and Farm Street he confronted Sekou riding a scooter, only for the youth to walk up to him. Thomas said: “Basically there’s a thing called G-checking. If I say ‘who’s that?’ in a way I say it, the way you respond to it makes it look like I know you are involved in something or trying to scare somebody.”

He stated the ‘G’ referred to a person as opposed to being a direct reference to a gang member. Thomas told the court that Sekou responded by saying ‘You know me, you know me’.

The defendant claimed he had never previously met Sekou and added: “I told him to get back and stay away from me. As he got closer I saw him reaching at like his waistband, reaching for something. So at that point I pulled out the gun and pointed at him and started shouting.

“I thought he was reaching for a knife. I was frightened. I was scared but I wasn’t trying to show I was scared. I was acting like I was angry. When I started shouting at him he thought it (the gun) was real so he stumbled back and ran away.”

Thomas stated he only fired the gun when Sekou was a far enough distance away to not ‘realise it was fake because I would be in danger’. He told the jury that profile 5 emerged, pushed him off the bike he was riding and took the gun saying ‘give me that’, before going off in pursuit of Sekou.

Thomas recalled sometime later hearing a commotion at the petrol station and profile 5 shout ‘oi oi oi’. He said: “I went to see if he was alright. I couldn’t leave him. He would get angry with me if he seen me later or a few days later. Leaving him would basically be worse than not listening to him.”

Thomas added: “I got around the corner and saw profile 1 (Sekou Doucoure) lying on the floor and profile 5 running back away from him with a knife in his hand. At that point I realised he had been stabbed. I didn’t know the seriousness of the situation.”

Asked why he had used the gun in the earlier incident he said: “Because P5 told me to do it.”

Thomas also denies a charge of possessing a shortened shotgun which was found in the shed of the home where he lived.

The trial continues…

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