Dagenham and Islington men convicted in relation to 'brazen' snooker hall shooting of Stratford man

A gunman who shot an unarmed man dead inside a snooker hall has been convicted of murder.

Jeton Krasniqi of Kershaw Road, Dagenham, fired at 27-year-old barbershop worker Grineo Daka from Stratford inside the Phoenix Snooker Club in Leyton in the early hours of July 7, 2019.

An accomplice, Edison Brahimi of Camden Road, Islington, helped him get away afterwards.

Samantha Yelland, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a senseless and brazen murder in the middle of a snooker hall filled with more than 50 people. 

"Gun violence in the capital has devastated yet another family."

The night before his murder, Mr Daka, who worked at Celebrity Barbers in Manor Park, was involved in a row at the same club about a girl.

In this argument, one of the group had been struck with a bottle.

The following night, after receiving a phone call, Mr Daka and a friend returned to the venue to talk it over - but at about 3am, they were attacked and pool balls were thrown.

Mr Daka was then shot once and his 21-year-old friend was caught on the foot by a bullet before the attackers fled. Two other bullets were also found inside the club.

Paramedics were unable to save Mr Daka, who died at the scene. The friend was taken to hospital where the bullet was removed.

Krasniqi, 27, was convicted of murder and wounding with intent following an Old Bailey trial which ended on Tuesday, May 25.

Brahimi, who was with Krasniqi at the time of the attack, tried to make sure their tracks were covered by driving them away from the club.

The 30-year-old also stayed away from his home in an attempt to frustrate the police investigation. He was also convicted at the same trial on two counts of perverting the course of justice.

The prosecution's case included CCTV footage showing Krasniqi throwing the gun used in the murder over a balcony before fleeing.

Police were able to recover the murder weapon two gardens away. A search of the club also led to the discovery of a bottle of Corona beer with Brahimi’s fingerprints on it – proving he had been at the snooker hall. 

A third defendant, Liridon Saliuka, 29, was charged with murder and was due to be tried, but he died in prison before the case came to court.

Ms Yelland said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Daka at this time."

Det Ch Insp Mark Wrigley of the Specialist Crime Command said: “Grineo Daka was lured to the snooker club that night, before his life was taken in an act of reckless violence; today, we have seen the man responsible convicted of his murder.

“Krasniqi went to the club 24 hours after an argument in order to seek revenge, ensuring that one of his friends brought a firearm with him. The club had about 50 people in it that night, and it is only by pure luck that more people weren’t injured or killed. The two additional discharged bullets that were recovered by our forensics team could quite easily have struck other people.

“Krasniqi’s intent that night is quite obvious. He was wearing gloves on a summer’s night; clearly, he was hoping to prevent his fingerprints from being found on the murder weapon. However, unbeknownst to him, his movements after the murder were captured on CCTV."