7:05 am, March 25, 2023
Four men who murdered a Jaguar Land Rover worker in a drive-by shooting have been sent to prison for life.
Anthony Sargeant was gunned down from a car on August 25, 2018 while he was outside his mother’s home in Lee Bank, Birmingham.
The 33-year-old was treated at the scene in Rickman Drive then taken to hospital but died six days later, according to a Coventry Live report.
He was a skilled footballer, and had established Birmingham-based Sunday league team Rickman Rovers two years earlier.
Anthony Sargeant. Picture: West Midlands Police/family handout
The gun was recovered during a police raid in Derbyshire in November 2019. Experts from the National Ballistics Intelligence Service were able to prove, via unique markings on the weapon, that it was the same one used to kill him.
No motive for his shooting was ever discovered.
The four men – Michael and Connor Goodwin, who are brothers, and Keenan Anderson and Leon Riley – had denied any involvement in murdering the father-of-eight but were convicted by a Birmingham Crown Court jury last July and were back at the court yesterday for sentencing.
Connor Goodwin, 28, previously of Wallace Road, Oldbury, was jailed for life with an order that he serve at least 32 years. Michael Goodwin, 27, also previously of the same address, was given a life sentence and must serve a minimum of 28 years.
Anderson, 26, previously of Albert Road, Handsworth, must serve at least 32 years of his life sentence, and 22-year-old Riley, previously of Bridgelands Way, Perry Barr, was ordered to spend at least 28 years of his life sentence behind bars.
As part of the investigation, detectives uncovered images showing the killers celebrating Connor Goodwin’s birthday on August 26 at a pub in Hockley, less than 24 hours after the shooting and while Mr Sargeant lay dying in hospital.
Picture via West Midlands Police
Senior investigating officer Det Insp Hannah Whitehouse said: ‘We may never know why Mr Sargeant was murdered, but we have been able to prove that these men acted together, travelling in a convoy of two stolen cars across Birmingham to go to Rickman Drive, where Anthony Sargeant was shot.
‘They have shown no remorse, denying the offence throughout. This investigation has been highly complex and challenging and it shows that West Midlands Police will relentlessly pursue those responsible for using firearms on our streets.’
From left, Michael Goodwin, Connor Goodwin, Keenan Anderson, Leon Riley. Picture via West Midlands Police
The Birmingham Mail quoted his sister Nikita Sargeant as telling the court during the sentencing hearing: ‘On the day his heart stopped beating, nothing has been the same.
‘He was snatched away from us. Anthony never got to see his youngest child turn one. He was a devoted father who played an active role. He was the backbone to our family.
‘The void he has left is huge. Grief is something we are going to have to live with for the rest of our lives.’
It also quoted Connor Goodwin’s defence counsel, Balraj Bhatia KC, as telling the court during the hearing: ‘There’s simply no evidence at all that there was a motive.
‘This is not the sort of case where the evidence was that this was a professional hitman.’
The Mail said the two cars – a BMW and a Mercedes – had been stolen from a Ladywood estate and driven on false plates to Rickman Drive, where Sargeant – known as ‘the King of Lee Bank’ – was socialising with neighbours and friends.
He was hit in the back when at least two shots were fired from one of the cars.
The Mail said a man called Dante Mullings had driven one of the cars and was himself killed in a subsequent drive-by shooting.
Four men were jailed for life for plotting to kill the 23-year-old, who was shot in May 2019, BBC News reported in April 2021.
Main image of Birmingham Crown Court via Google Street View
