By Carl Jackson

Copyright birminghammail

A thug who killed a 16-year-old former footballer amid a postcode gang war in Birmingham has been jailed for 22 years. Ishmael Farquharson stabbed Sekou Doucoure in the chest on the forecourt of an Esso petrol station on Nursery Road, Newtown at around 6.30pm on July 12, 2022. CCTV showed the two having a knife fight before the fatal blow. READ MORE: Man who escaped to Spain guilty of killing boy in Birmingham postcode gang war Farquharson claimed he acted in self-defence. He was cleared of murder by a jury who found him guilty of manslaughter. The 34-year-old, from Porchester Drive, near the scene, was also convicted of having an offensive weapon in public. Judge Paul Farrer KC, passing sentence at Birmingham Crown Court today, said Farquharson sought ‘retribution’ against Sekou, who used to play for Nottingham Forest, and his actions came ‘close’ to murder. He told him: “You led the pursuit of a rival gang member and did so intending on causing injury. “You were armed with a significant knife and, having located your victim, you engaged in a knife fight with him which led to him being fatally injured. “You didn’t intend to cause really serious injury but, as you accepted, this was a deliberate stabbing with a significant knife. You must have intended to cause him injury, falling just short of this.” Sekou had been a promising footballer who once played for Nottingham Forest but the trial detailed how he had tragically slipped into gang culture. Jurors heard he was a ‘prominent young member’ of a gang called Get Round Der (GRD), associated with the B20 postcode areas of Perry Barr and Handsworth Wood . Evidence from his phone revealed that on July 12 that year he and an unknown associate deliberately rode a bike and e-scooter into ‘enemy territory’. In particular that was the neighbouring B19 postcode area of Newtown, primarily associated with the 9Boyz gang. The modern rivalries stem from the deadly clashes between Birmingham’s notorious Burger Bar Boys and Johnson Crew, from the 1980s. A police gang expert said that while they no longer existed themselves, children were still ‘repping’ the relevant postcode areas. Before the fatal encounter, Sekou was involved in a confrontation with rival teenage gangsters Pierre Thomas and Fardi Jafal at the junction of Farm Street and Villa Street. He brandished a knife but fled after Thomas, known as P.Dot, fired a fake gun at him. CCTV showed Farquharson arrive at the scene shortly afterwards, take the gun from Thomas and appear to chase Sekou. He found him around 20 minutes later near the Esso petrol station on Nursery Road and the two could be seen in a knife fight. After both swung their blades at each other, Sekou pursued Farquharson across the street and both of them fell to the ground. The boy regained his footing first but Farquharson wrestled him to the floor once again, overpowered him and delivered the killer blow to his chest. He took Sekou’s knife and fled but quickly discarded the weapon and returned to the scene to retrieve his own blade and stole an e-scooter belonging to someone else who had abandoned it. Thomas, then 17, and Jafal, then 16, were arrested and later jailed having been convicted at a separate trial of manslaughter and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Farquharson went on the run, prompting multiple ‘wanted’ appeals from police and a £10,000 Crimestoppers reward put up for information on his whereabouts. He was arrested in Spain earlier this year. Giving evidence, Farquharson downplayed the relevance of gang rivalries and instead claimed Sekou had been one of two masked males who had stabbed him in the back a week earlier. Judge Farrer rejected his claim he ran into Sekou by chance at the petrol station and said there was ‘overwhelming’ evidence he led the pursuit of him that day. He added: “You were always intent on causing him harm. Your actions were never defensive.” Sekou’s mother Marietou Doucoure said he was not the oldest of her children but the ‘most confident’ and ‘protective’, describing him as the ‘glue’ that held her family together. She said she came to the UK to give her children a better life and spoke of Sekou’s talent for football and dreams of doing it professionally. But Ms Doucoure revealed she put him in a safe house due to her fears over gang violence ‘taking over the area’. Of Farquharson, she said: “I see him as the killer. He was an adult and could have discouraged the violence rather than encourage it and lead the hunt for my son. “I have deep anger towards Farquharson and feel very sad. A lot has been said about Sekou. He had some bad points in life but he was also a good boy and I miss him terribly. He is a great loss to me and his family.” Farquharson had 18 previous convictions for 31 offences including violent assaults, attempted robbery, witness intimidation and possession of an imitation firearm, the court heard. His barrister Gurdeep Garcha KC said the killing was ‘out-of-character’ as the father-of-three had not been involved in violent crime for over ten years. Summarising a letter from Farquharson he told the court: “He will always carry the weight of knowing a life has been taken because of his actions. “There is not a day in prison he doesn’t reflect on the events of that day. He acknowledges what Sekou’s family must be going through and recognises his lasting responsibility. He will carry that burden for the rest of his life. “He asked me to publicly express regret at what he’s done. He unconditionally apologises to Sekou’s family. He is very sorry.” Mr Garcha said that while others involved were gang members it was ‘not as clear’ for Farquharson. He said he did not kill Sekou simply because he was from a gang, but because it was ‘kill or be killed and he felt threatened by Sekou’s behaviour’. “It was a reaction in the heat of the moment,” Mr Garcha added. Farquharson will have to spend two-thirds of his sentence in custody before his release on licence.