Innocent caught in the crossfire

Two days before Dester Coleman was gunned down in cold blood - with a blast into his back as he turned to flee a raging battle - two women started a row that was to end in murder.

The pair had been quarrelling inthe Listers Arms in Manchester Road. It seemed an argument about nothing, but to Adelso Saws it was important enough to get involved.

He couldn't resist putting his oar in, and other drinkers in the bar didn't like it.

"A group of Afro-Caribbean men in the bar did not like the way he was treating them," said investigating officer Detective Superintendent Chris Gregg.

In their eyes, he was being disrespectful to the women - and they were about to make sure he knew they were not happy.

Saws shouldn't have got involved, and it ended with him being 'slapped'.

Chased from the pub, he was an angry man.

His pride hurt, he simmered over the loss of face. Saws wanted to get his own back.

Over the next two days he plotted his revenge.

On July 15, Saws went to Lumb Lane for his 'payaback' against those he believed to be responsible.

Outside the Young Lion Caf a group of Afro Caribbean men had gathered as usual, chatting and watching punters walking in and out of the neighbouring bookmakers. There was little sign of the trouble to come.

But with Saws preparing for revenge, trouble was certainly brewing.

At around 7pm, along with Mohammed Shaffi and others, he pulled up in a gold Vauxhall Omega and walked confidently towards the group of men who eyed him suspiciously. As he approached, he put his hand inside the waistband of his trousers, creating the impression that he was armed and dangerous.

The group froze for a moment and then scattered in all directions, preparing themselves for the worst, fearing for their lives.

They ran for cover, but when they realised there was no danger, they retaliated, throwing stones at the car, furious at being made to look foolish. And as Saws and Shaffi fled the angry mob, stones rained down on vehicle causing serious damage.

The tension was escalating out of control. The pair who had travelled to Lumb Lane to exact their revenge now felt even smaller - their standing belittled by a group of men they believed were not in their class.

Saws and Shaffi were furious and spent the next half hour on mobile phones, gathering a posse of around 100 Asians men to return to the Afro Caribbeans remaining outisde the cafe. They struck at around 7.30pm, coming from two directions to trap their unprepared victims.

"One group came from Lumb Lane, the other from Trenton Drive," said Det Supt Gregg. "It was a well-orchestrated attack and they were intent on serious disorder."

The mob was armed to the teeth, with at least two guns, baseball bats, swords, machetes and clubs. Many had their faces covered with balaclavas or scarves.

In among the group of innocent by-standers outside the Young Lion Caf was a 26-year-old student.

Dester Coleman, or Dexter or X as he was known, was aware of the imminent danger around him, but little could he have known that his life was about to be snatched from him.

He turned to flee before feeling a sharp pain in his back. Badly wounded, he stumbled into the caf with the help of friends, desperate to seek sanctuary inside. He was dragged upstairs by the men who were now under siege and desperate to avoid being attacked themselves.

"Dester was trapped by the attackers in the caf as his life ebbed away," said Det Supt Gregg.

But the angry mob's hunger for violence had not been satisfied.

Bricks flew into the caf, showering glass on those inside. The nearby bookmakers became an obvious target for those who had started out trying to make a point - staff fled leaving an easy source of cash for the gang looting the premises, destroying it as they went.

The following day, Manningham awoke to the fresh wounds of the night's bloody violence.

In Lumb Lane, a pair of eight-foot wooden barriers sealed off the Young Lion Caf from the reeling local population. Detectives had ordered they be put up to preserve evidence at the debris-strewn murder scene.

But over the following days, weeks and months, the same officers would have to work at pulling barriers down - between themselves and the community caught up in the violence.

Det Supt Gregg said: "This was a very difficult and tense investigation. People who were at the scene were unwilling to speak to us - either they had a distrust or resentment of the police, or were frightened of reprisals or intimidation."

Special liaison officers were immediately drafted in to forge links with the Afro-Caribbean population, stressing that their co-operation was essential to catch the killer.

At the same time, officers worked with community leaders to ensure that the tinderbox of relations did not ignite again.

"A meeting was arranged and around 100 people turned up to air their concerns," said Det Supt Gregg. "We listened carefully to what they had to say and then assured them that we would leave no stone unturned."

He added: "That is exactly what we did. Officers did everything possible to follow up every single piece of information and to investigate each as thoroughly as they could."

Bingy, who runs the Young Lion Caf, agreed: "The police have done everything they could do."

And he said that the black community had responded to the appeals, rejecting retaliation and instead supporting the detectives' work.

"People could have put up a wall of silence but they came forward and gave statements - they came to court to give evidence," he said.

In all, the 40-strong investigating team would take 600 statements and follow up 1,000 different inquiries.

They carried out forensic tests on the weapons which had been thrown under cars and into gardens by dispersing attackers.

Officers trawled through CCTV footage captured within Lumb Lane which would be later shown to jury members.

Telecommunications experts studied data from mobile phones, helping to track the movements of key players.

And throughout, detectives heading the investigation were well aware of the pressure upon them to get results. As the national media looked on, fearful residents called for the attackers to be locked up.

Bradford detectives travelled halfway around the world to ensure vital witnesses were traced. Three of these had left the country - one heading to Pakistan while another two went to Jamaica.

One in particular, Mohammed Akhtar Ayaz, was absolutely crucial to the prosecution case.

A team of three officers travelled to Pakistan where they used local intelligence to find Ayaz in the Punjab.

"This operation proved how important previous bridge-building visits to Pakistan have been," he said.

"The officers were able to go to established contacts in the Pakistani police force who were a great benefit to our own investigation."

Once they had located him, officers had to assure Ayaz of his safety before escorting him back to England to give evidence at the trial. He has since been placed on a witness protection scheme.

Another team of officers flew to Jamaica where they located two men who also appeared as witnesses at courtroom number 5 in Leeds. They were set to return to the Caribbean after the case.

The first arrests came quickly. Within the same weekend as the disturbance, the first suspects connected with the violence were seized and questioned.

But the arrests brought with them the prospect of more violence. When officers carried out a search in the Horton Grange Road area, a predominantly Asian crowd took to the streets and more than 20 people were arrested for public order offences.

But as armed units began swooping at addresses of central suspects, others knew their time would come.

"I think they realised that we were not going to go away," said Det Insp Gregg.

"We had suspects volunteering themselves at police stations but saying it was nothing to do with them."

As Safdar Khan began a life behind bars for murder, Dester Coleman was remembered as a 'peacemaker' who became the innocent victim of gun violence.

After the jury's guilty verdict, Detective Inspector Chris Gregg, who led the investigation, said: "It is an absolute tragedy that Dester has lost his life. He had been totally unconnected with the trouble in any way."

Mr Coleman was shot in the back with a single .45 calibre bullet as he ran for cover from a marauding armed gang.

Today Mr Coleman's girlfriend described him as the "life and soul of any party" who went out of his way to avoid confrontation.

Davina Clarke, 22, was Mr Coleman's partner for three years, meeting him shortly after he arrived in Bradford from Jamaica to study computing. He leaves a four-year-old daughter Takiyaa in the Caribbean.

"He was the first boy I ever took to meet my parents," recalled Miss Clarke, who was forced to drop out of her own management degree course through the trauma of his murder.

"He made my life. He was the life and soul of any party he went to. He'd make others happy with his jokes and people loved to have him around."

Miss Clarke, a Post Office worker, said they had a happy relationship and moved into their house In New Hey Road, West Bowling, 12 months after meeting.

"He had never been in trouble and he didn't like confrontation," said Miss Clarke. "He was a peacemaker. He often talked about how people should live peacefully together but I'd say 'You live in a dreamworld - life's not really like that''.

She is sure Mr Coleman did not know his killers but was tragically in the 'wrong place at the wrong time'.

"When the first argument started he was sitting at home with me - it was nothing to do with him."

Miss Clarke said that ever since, she has asked herself why he had to die.

"They didn't come for him - they just opened fire. There were five shots fired and there could have been another four people hit.

"I have come around to thinking that God just thought that it was his time. It was just fate."

Miss Clarke was first told about the shooting by a friend at work.

"Of course, I didn't believe it. If we lived in America and guns were part of life then maybe I could have taken it in. But this was Bradford so it didn't make sense.

"I rang and rang him but couldn't get an answer on his mobile phone. Then when I picked up my own mobile I saw there were 42 missed messages and I knew there was something seriously wrong.

"I don't know how I drove up to the hospital - I was shaking so much. All the time I kept thinking there was some mistake. Maybe he had been involved in a car accident. If he had been shot, it could have been in the leg."

When she arrived at Bradford Royal Infirmary, Miss Clarke was greeted by the sight of Mr Coleman's badly injured friends.

"At that time I was vomiting because of the shock.

"When a police officer called me to one side, I think I knew what had happened but I wouldn't accept it - I was gripping on to the hope it wasn't him."

"I told the officer I knew he was dead but I just wanted to see him but they wouldn't let me."

Weeks later, she would help dress the body for Mr Coleman's last flight back to Jamaica where he was buried. Miss Clarke flew back for the emotional family ceremony.

"For the first couple of months, after Dester's death it was total shock. Everyone was rallying around. We had the funeral to organise and then the peace march.

"I wanted to be strong in front of everyone else. I think it really hit me hardest when all the fuss was over and I was left alone.

"It is just the silly, everyday things that make me miss him so much. His birthday was very hard.

"I expect him to walk through the door any minute or for the phone to ring and him to be on the line. But I know that that is never going to happen again."

Although she would enjoy nights out with Mr Coleman, Miss Clarke said she cannot face it any more.

"Other people's lives carry on but I feel my world has been destroyed."

Asked how she feels about those in the dock, Miss Clarke said: "I first I didn't feel anything towards them."

But as time went on she began to feel anger for the life they robbed.

"I was in court every day of the case. They were in there giggling together, without a care in the world.

"It made me more and more angry and I felt like I wanted to grab them around the neck and strangle them - but that would have made me no better than them."

She said: "Now I don't know how I feel. I just hate the fact that they have destroyed my world. There is no punishment which could compensate for what they have done."

Now Miss Clarke is preparing to return to her degree course in September and is determined to re-build her life.

"I feel a lot stronger now but what had happened will never leave me."