Sheku Kamara
Encyclopedia
Sheku Kamara is a defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 and a convicted criminal.

Football career

Having been an apprentice at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

, Kamara signed professional forms for Watford in June 2006 after a trial spell.

Kamara's 2006-07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

 pre-season was disrupted with a knee injury which it was initially feared would keep him out for the entire season. However the injury was proved to be less serious than originally thought, only keeping him out of action for around a month.

Kamara made his first professional appearance on 19 September 2006, coming on as a second half substitute for Dominic Blizzard
Dominic Blizzard
Dominic John Blizzard is an English football midfielder who plays for League One side Yeovil Town....

 in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 second round victory over Accrington Stanley.

In November 2006 Kamara joined Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic F.C.
Grays Athletic Football Club is an English football club currently based in Corringham, Essex after leaving the New Recreation Ground in Grays at the end of the 2009–10 season...

 on a six week loan deal. He played for the Essex club 4 times during his time at the club before returning to Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

 the following January.

Following a number of trials, Sheku rejoined the Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 outfit on non-contract terms and made his second debut in front of the Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...

 cameras against Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...

, coming on as a substitute.

Arrest and sentence

On 1 May 2008, Sheku Kamara was sentenced to eight years in jail for his involvement in an armed robbery. He was arrested as part of a gang of criminals who would confront civilians with a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...

 and ask for their possessions, including mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s, wallet
Wallet
A wallet, or billfold, is a small, flat case that is used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards, identification documents , photographs, business cards and other paper or laminated cards...

s and pin numbers.

In passing sentence, the judge described the men's actions as well-planned and intentional banditry of the worst order. He commended the arresting officers for their bravery and the investigating team for the professionalism of their work.

The three men were identified and arrested, in late November 2007, after local police increased patrols and CCTV was monitored in response to a spate of similar robberies in the area during November 2007.

The victims of these robberies were threatened at gunpoint and had credit cards, cash and other valuables stolen. They would then be forced to provide their PIN
Personal identification number
A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...

 and one of the robbers would go to a nearby cash machine and withdraw money.

Kamara was charged with five counts of robbery and five counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Two firearms believed to have been used in the robberies were also recovered during the investigation, a gas-powered airsoft gun, modelled on a Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...

 pistol and a .177 calibre air pistol.

External links

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