Luton ‘hitman’ Khadeem Newell who shot at BMW loses sentence appeal

A WOULD-BE hitman who tried to carry out a gangland-style execution has been told by top judges he is dangerous and deserved to be jailed for life.

Khadeem Newell shot at a BMW in Fountains Road, Luton, in May 2013, narrowly missing his intended victim.

The 24-year-old, of Jasmine Road, Luton, was last year handed a life sentence at Luton Crown Court.

He was found guilty of attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He today challenged his sentence at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, insisting he should not have been handed the ultimate punishment.

But his complaints were thrown out by three of the country’s most senior judges, who said the sentence was ‘justified’ in light of the danger he posed to society.

The judges also dismissed an appeal by the ‘fixer’ who hired Newell, Rene Anton Lawrence, against his conviction for conspiracy to murder.

The court heard Newell was riding a motorbike when he shot at the car shortly before 9pm on Sunday, May 5.

After firing the first bullet, he crashed into a taxi and came off his bike, but strode towards the BMW and fired the gun again. He then fled in a getaway car.

Newell was traced after his DNA was found in the motorcycle helmet and a trainer that were abandoned at the scene.

One of the passengers in the car, Sajjid Hussain, was the intended victim of the hit and had been shot in the thigh outside his tyre business just days earlier.

He had also received a phone call telling him he was a ‘marked man’ after he refused to tell the caller the whereabouts of another man.

Lawrence, 26, of Littlefield Road, Stopsley, Luton, was also jailed for life after being found guilty of plotting to murder Mr Hussain.

He was linked to the crime through phone records and was believed to have acted as a middle-man between Newell and another man who ordered the hit.

Dismissing Lawrence’s appeal, Lord Justice Treacy said there was ‘no doubt’ about the safety of the jury’s guilty verdict.

Sitting with Mr Justice King and Judge David Aubrey, he also rejected Newell’s appeal against his sentence.

The judge concluded: “This was involvement in extremely serious crime, arising from some form of dispute.

“It was carried out in a way which not only put the intended victim in extreme danger, but also members of the public.

“In those circumstances, we are satisfied that the judge was entirely right to find this offender was dangerous.”