That is the message from a senior police officer investigating a Sheffield shooting that took the life of a 19-year-old man, and left his two young children without a father.
Kevin Pokuta, a father of two children aged just seven-months and two-years-old, was shot on Page Hall Road, Page Hall in the early hours of Tuesday, December 12, 2023. He sadly died in hospital the following day.
As a 23-year-old woman under suspicion for assisting an offender becomes the ninth person to be arrested in the murder probe, a senior police officer has issued a warning to those who carry guns, and are responsible for shootings on the city's streets.
DCI Joanne Kemp said: "This devastating incident has resulted in the loss of a much-loved young man. Kevin was just 19 years-old, and his death has left a baby and a toddler without a father, and a young woman without her partner.
"Today I am asking anyone with information that might be able to assist with our investigation to come forward. The intelligence you provide will help us take violent criminals off the streets and put them behind bars.
"Our officers will be conducting extras patrols in the area today and throughout the night. They are there for you and we encourage anyone with concerns to stop and speak to them.
"There is no place for gun crime within our communities and we will continue to work relentlessly until we have answers for Kevin’s loved ones. If you carry a gun, you can be assured we will hunt you down and ensure you face the consequences of your horrific actions which put local people in danger."
Over the last year, The Star has reported on 21 individuals being jailed for offences relating to gun crime, all of whom are included within this gallery.
Anyone wishing to report a crime should call South Yorkshire Police on 101.
Call 999 in an emergency.
As a 23-year-old woman under suspicion for assisting an offender becomes the ninth person to be arrested in the murder probe, a senior police officer has issued a warning to those who carry guns, and are responsible for shootings on the city's streets.
5. Mohammed Ibrar: Sheffield teen tried to stash 'dangerous' adapted firearm on window ledge
A Sheffield teenager who attempted to stash a modified gun and ammunition on a windowsill during a police raid of an Abbeydale Road property has been put behind bars. “Firearms are used by criminals to kill, maim, terrify and intimidate. All matter of serious offending is made more serious when a firearm is used,” Judge Graham Reeds KC told 19-year-old defendant Mohammed Ibrar, as he sent him to begin a five-year prison sentence for possession of an adapted firearm and ammunition. Officers were sent to raid two properties on Abbeydale Road on August 9, 2023, after receiving ‘information about a potential sighting of firearms,’ prosecuting barrister, Charlotte Noddings told Sheffield Crown Court. Ms Noddings said one of the officers present noticed ‘movement’ in one of the upstairs windows at the property, and subsequently observed Ibrar, ‘reach through the window, and saw him place a black man bag on the ledge outside’. The ‘man bag’ was subsequently retrieved, and inside, officers found a modified black handgun, the court heard during a hearing held on September 14, 2023. Following the discovery, Ibrar, of Joshua Road, Nether Edge, was arrested and answered ‘no comment’ to all questions, Ms Noddings said. Examination of the gun revealed it to be a converted 9mm P.A.K Retay 84FS pistol, along with what Judge Reeds termed as ‘homemade’ ammunition that was ‘compatible’ to be used with the firearm. Judge Reeds told Ibrar: “It was a working firearm that was ready to be fired immediately.” Ms Noddings said it was the Crown’s case that ‘the firearm had been modified to make it more dangerous…turning it from a blank firing weapon to a real weapon’. Ibrar stated, through his basis of plea, which was accepted by the prosecution, that he was given the firearm a couple of days before his arrest and was holding it for an individual whose house had recently been shot at. Using his basis of plea, Ibrar pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a prohibited weapon, namely a firearm of length less than 30cm / 60cm, and possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate at an earlier hearing. Possession of a firearm carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of five years, unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’. However, Judge Reeds suggested that ‘people with lower profiles’ storing firearms for known criminals happens too often for the circumstances of an individual in that predicament to be regarded as ‘exceptional’. He said Ibrar would therefore have to receive the minimum term, and jailed him for five years.
6. Sibusiso Moyo and Christopher Gill: Two jailed for over 31 years for making machine guns for gangs
Sibusiso Moyo, then aged 41 and Christopher Gill, then aged 35, were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court in May 2023 after being convicted of manufacturing the firearms after police found the deadly plastic weapons in the back of a BMW. Video revealed how police swooped on the car that Majeed Rehman, 46, an associate of the pair, had been driving on May 17 last year in Bradford. And they discovered an 'FGC9' homemade automatic sub-machine gun, magazine and bullets hidden in a supermarket bag-for-life in the rear footwell of the car. Police performed the stop on the vehicle after surveillance showed a man, later identified as Gill, get into the BMW while carrying the shopping bag. Raids on Gill's property, led by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, found two further almost complete FGC9s in a holdall hidden in his loft. When Moyo was later arrested, evidence showed he'd been manufacturing FGC9s at his home in Hull where he had two 3D printers and parts to make weapons. Officers found tools and parts, including springs and screws, that could be used to make the guns as shown in an online manual at his address. Disturbingly, one of the weapons recovered had an image of an arm holding a curved sword with what appears to be blood dripping from its blade imprinted on its side. Evidence also showed firearms at various stages of construction in Moyo's Kitchen and garage, as well as inside Gill's home address. Moyo's DNA was also found on the weapon taken from the BMW. Sheffield Crown Court heard forensic firearms experts based at the Royal Armouries in Leeds had tested the seized items and confirmed they were viable firearms. It's thought the 3D-printed assault weapons were the first of their kind ever seized by police in the UK. Moyo, of Hull was found guilty of illegally manufacturing a firearm and a separate identity fraud offence following a trial, was jailed for 18 years. Gill, of Bradford, who was found guilty of illegally manufacturing a firearm, was jailed for 13 years and 8 months.
7. Saleh Mordi: 21-year-old ‘found carrying gun and drugs on city street’ jailed for nine years
Saleh Mordi was stopped by South Yorkshire Police near Abbeydale Road, in October 2022, and found to have with him a firearm, drugs and significant amounts of cash. He has now been jailed for nearly nine years at Sheffield Crown Court. The court heard that when he was searched, officers found cannabis, wraps of a white substance and a large quantity of cash. Mordi was also carrying a bag which, when searched, was found to contain a handgun. Mordi, formerly of York Road, Rotherham, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on Friday April 21, 2023 where he pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of ammunition, possession of Class A drugs, possession of Class B drugs, possession of criminal property and racially aggravated public order. He was sentenced to eight years and 11 months in prison.
8. James Ridgley: Jail for Doncaster paedophile who was shot by cops after aiming and firing gun at officers
James Ridgley, aged 27, brandished an imitation firearm in a Doncaster shop last November. During a hearing held in February 2023, Sheffield Crown Court heard that on Monday, November 7, 2022, armed officers were called to a report of a man armed with a gun inside a shop on Rockingham Road, Wheatley. When armed officers arrived, they were met by Ridgley, who discharged the firearm – a realistic blank-firer - and ran towards them. He had also discharged the firearm several times within the shop before officers arrived. South Yorkshire Police said “a police firearm was discharged, and Ridgley suffered an injury that required hospital treatment”. He was released from hospital that same day and brought into police custody. Ridgley, of St Mary’s Road, was charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was also charged with making an indecent image of a child and attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child. He had pleaded guilty to all charges and received a 35 month custodial sentence. In addition to being jailed over the incident, Ridgley has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.