UK soldier tries to flee from conviction in a London courtroom on Friday

[Fade]

UK soldier tries to flee from conviction in a London courtroom on Friday
By Meera Selva, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON - A decorated Iraq war veteran tried to escape from a British courtroom Friday after he was convicted of murdering a waiter 14 years ago.

Michael Ross, 29, jumped out of his chair and tried to flee after a jury found him guilty of killing Shamsuddin Mahmood in 1994. Police and court officials wrestled him to the ground in the hallway.

Prosecutor Brian McConnachie charged that Ross, then 15 years old, walked into the Mumutaz restaurant in Kirkwall, the main town in the Orkney islands off the Scottish coast, wearing a headcovering and shot the Bangladesh native as he took a customer's order.

McConnachie told the jury the murder was "savage, merciless and pointless." He said the killing was motivated by racial hatred.

Story continued.... (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/06/20/5942591-ap.html)

[Britboy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7465621.stm

Strange, the Beeb says it was in Glasgow, not London...

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Scotland is not in London.

[a_very_ex_STAB]

This is certainly a real 'bizarro' case

The weirdest thing is that back in 1997 the perp's father was found to have had ammo of the type used in the shooting - surely that would have been enough to focus the coppers' minds more on the son 11 years ago (especially as the perp's father was the firearms officer initially brought in to investigate the case!!!!!).

[Britboy]

Scotland is not in London.

I know.

________________________
Killer runs after guilty verdict


BBC Scotland's David Henderson shows how Ross fled the court room

A soldier who was 15 when he murdered a waiter in an Orkney restaurant in 1994 fled court after being found guilty.
Sgt Michael Ross, 29, who became a Black Watch sniper, had denied shooting 26-year-old Shamsuddin Mahmood.
As he was being led away at the High Court in Glasgow, Ross jumped out of the dock and managed to escape. He was caught by a court official and police.
The victim's relatives said they were pleased with the verdict. Ross faces a life term when sentenced in next month.


Michael Ross shot Shamsuddin Mahmood in 1994

Dark cloud over islanders
Police reaction to verdict
His brother, Abul Shafuddin, said: "The family feel happy with the verdict and happy with the performance of the police.
"Justice has been done. We are grateful to all who worked to bring the accused to trial."
The jury found Ross, now of Inverness, guilty after a six-week trial.
After the majority verdict, Ross ran from the courtroom through a side door used only by court personnel, pursued by police.
He was stopped from escaping further by court official Gordon Morison who grabbed Ross and held onto him until police arrived seconds later, handcuffed him and took him down to the cells.
Mr Morison is thought to have suffered carpet burns to his face, but was otherwise unhurt.
He was later taken to trial judge Lord Hardie's chambers, where he was praised.
Lord Hardie said: "Mr Morison brought the accused to the ground and was injured in the process. Mr Morison is shaken, but all right and the accused is back in custody."

Michael Ross kept his murderous past secret for 14 years

He told the jury: "I hope that the events of today haven't been too dramatic and too upsetting for you. I hope you are all right after that unexpected experience."
Lord Hardie told the jury that counselling would be available to them if they needed it, and excused them from sitting on a jury for life.
Earlier, the judge told first offender Ross: "In view of the verdict of the jury and the fact you have no previous convictions, I require a social inquiry report before sentencing you."
Mr Mahmood, born in Bangladesh, was shot in the head in Kirkwall's Mumutaz restaurant in full view of a room full of diners, including families with children, by a masked gunman in June, 1994.
The killing sparked one of Northern Constabulary's biggest investigations.
Ross's father - police officer Eddie Ross who was called to the scene of the shooting - was later jailed for four years for trying to defeat the ends of justice.

This was a callous murder of an innocent young man who was well-known and liked within the town
Andrew Laing
Area procurator fiscal
The charge was that he withheld information from investigating officers over ammunition he found in his own home. It resembled the cartridge used to kill the waiter.
The murder remained unsolved, but a breakthrough in the case came when new witness, Willie Grant, came forward.
He claimed he saw who he believed may have been Michael Ross coming out of a cubicle in public toilets on the night of the shooting.
He said the person he saw had a gun and was wearing a balaclava or ski mask.
During the trial, the Crown claimed Ross was a racist, and this was the motivation behind the crime.
One witness said he overheard Ross saying: "Blacks should be shot and have a gun put at their head."
Prosecutor Brian McConnachie QC claimed there was circumstantial evidence which proved Ross's guilt.
However, defence counsel Donald Findlay QC asked the jury if a boy of 15 could have committed such a calm and professional killing.
The court heard that Ross had later been praised for his bravery while serving in Iraq.
Northern Constabulary Det Insp Iain Smith, the officer who led the investigation team, described the shooting as a "shocking and sickening crime".
He added: "There is reason to believe that this dreadful crime was racially-motivated and I would like to take this opportunity to underline the force's commitment to tackling crimes of this nature."
'Cowardly act'
On Ross's former police officer father Eddie's actions, he said he believed they were those of a "father protecting his son".
Area procurator fiscal for the Highland and Islands, Andrew Laing, said: "This was a callous murder of an innocent young man who was well-known and liked within the town.
"This cowardly act shocked not only the local community but people throughout Scotland.
"My thoughts remain with Shamsuddin's family, who I know, since 1994, have been keen to see the perpetrator of this terrible crime brought to justice."
He added: "Prosecutors and officers from Northern Constabulary were determined that justice would be done in this case. Many people have worked on this investigation over the years and all will be satisfied with today's outcome.
"It is also appropriate to highlight the crucial part played by members of the public in Kirkwall and elsewhere who acted in great public spirit to assist the police and the court in coming forward and providing vital information."

[Dave242]

Scotland is not in London.

But the Scotts are running London! Bliar Brown and the Scottish Mafia are doing a great job!

Dave

[Lov3ll]

But the Scotts are running London! Bliar Brown and the Scottish Mafia are doing a great job!

Dave

Boris is an odd name for a Scots man.

[Dave242]

Boris is an odd name for a Scots man.

So are you saying that Brown has no power to tell what Boris can and cant do!

Dave

[Lov3ll]

So are you saying that Brown has no power to tell what Boris can and cant do!

Dave

Having the power to do and actually doing so are to different things, but he would be stupid to do so, most PMs realise they shouldn't interfere with London, who was it that said interfere with London at your own peril or something like that, it might have been Thatcher not sure or it might have been some random person from TV. p-)

[Connaught Ranger]

Point 1. He was a juvenile, when he committed the racially motivated murder.

Point 2. He would not be the first person, to join the military to hide from his past.

But at the end of the day, Justice has been served.

R.I.P. to the victim Mr. Shamsuddin Mahmood.

[Dave242]

With Londons transport system on the verge of collapse because of him Brown imposeing PFI (private finance initiative) on us here in London when everyone told him to go with the system used in New York with Bob kiley (ex CIA and New York MTA) running it

No he knew better now look at it! This is just one of many things!!!

Dave

[Adux]

Point 1. He was a juvenile, when he committed the racially motivated murder.

Point 2. He would not be the first person, to join the military to hide from his past.

But at the end of the day, Justice has been served.

R.I.P. to the victim Mr. Shamsuddin Mahmood.

x2................