Youth was shot during burglary

2:43pm Friday 16th May 2008

Comments (18)   Have your say »

TWO teenagers have been convicted of a burglary in which a 19-year-old man was shot three times.

Esse Sonron, aged 19, Tunde Otubanjo, 18, and a third unidentified man got into the ground-floor flat in Sydenham through an open window.

When the teenage resident tried to protect his 17-year-old brother from the masked raiders he was shot in the cheek, shoulder and mouth.

The burglars escaped with just a laptop computer and a set of keys, the Old Bailey heard on Wednesday (May 14).

The victim had grabbed a knife from the kitchen to defend himself and his brother and began scuffling with the raiders.

He was shot when they first burst into his flat in Bell Green Lane on May 2 last year and again during the fight.

One bullet hit his cheek and lodged in his neck near to an artery. A second hit his shoulder blade and a third was recovered from his mouth.

Sonron, who was badly cut in the fight, was forced out of the flat door and driven to hospital by his accomplices.

Otubanjo, of Burnham Road, Dartford, and Sonron, of Lewisham Road, Lewisham, were both arrested later that afternoon at Lewisham Hospital.

They were both found guilty of aggravated burglary.

Both were cleared of attempted murder and Otubanjo was also acquitted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Sonron also faced a wounding charge but the jury could not agree a verdict. He will find out later today (May 16) if he will face a retrial.

Both men will be sentenced for the burglary at a later date and were remanded in custody.