Tyrone Solomon, aged 47, shot a man in the stomach after believing he had been ‘short-changed’ over three wraps of crack
Tyrone Solomon shot a man in Handsworth after a drug deal turned sour
A gunman has been given a huge jail-term for shooting a dad in the stomach after a row broke out over three wraps of crack.
Tyrone Solomon felt he had been short-changed and pulled out his pistol on Ibrar Hussain who had driven to meet him on Hamstead Road, Handsworth.
The gun went off in a subsequent struggle and Mr Hussain was shot in the abdomen.
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He managed to get himself to hospital but required life-saving surgery.
Solomon still had the loaded gun three days later when he was arrested.
He was branded a ‘danger’ to the public and anyone who crosses him.
The 47-year-old was cleared of attempted murder and wounding with intent but found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (February 27) he was sentenced to 19 years with an extended five-year licence period.
He had arranged to buy drugs from Mr Hussain at 3am on February 1, 2024.
Solomon, who was with a woman at the time, went to the window of Mr Hussain’s Volkswagen Golf.
Judge Paul Farrer Kc said: “Mr Hussain’s passenger took your money and then told you he was only going to give you six wraps of crack as opposed to the nine you had just paid for.
“He suggested this was because (the woman) owed him an outstanding debt.
“You wanted your money back and became angry.
“In those circumstances you produced your firearm.”
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He continued: “The prosecution case advanced to the jury was that you pointed the firearm at Ibrar Hussain and deliberately shot him.
“The jury must have rejected that proposition and instead plainly accepted you were or may have been telling the truth when you asserted there was a struggle over the gun during which it went off.
“The front seat passenger grabbed your arm during the ensuing struggle during which your finger was on the trigger.
“The gun was discharged and in that way Mr Hussain was shot.”
Mr Hussain got himself to hospital and would have likely died within three to five days had it not been for the treatment he received, the court was told.
More than two years on from the incident and the dad stated he is still suffering with mobility and mental health issues. The bullet remains lodged in his body.
Police arrested Solomon at his address on Hamstead Road three days later.
He tried to escape out of a ground floor window and discarded the loaded gun in the garden where it was recovered.
Solomon has committed 40 previous offences, the first of which he carried out when he was aged 14.
Three of his past crimes involved him having a gun.
Solomon has also been the subject of several ‘Wanted’ appeals issued by West Midlands Police in recent years.
Judge Farrer said: “You are a man who has demonstrated a determination to possess firearms and ammunition over the last 25 years.
“The author of the probation report states ‘the nature of the current and previous convictions indicate you have both the propensity and capability to cause serious harm to the public and known adults.
“You present a very high risk of serious harm to the public’. I agree with that.
“You are a presently and are likely to remain a danger to those who cross you.”
Gwynn Price Rowlands, defending Solomon, reiterated he did not intend to shoot Mr Hussain or cause him serious harm.
He stated he went to the car to accompany the woman, who was a ‘sad, vulnerable drug user’ that had been ‘abused by drug dealers’.
The barrister added: “He discovered there may have been some sort of relationship between the drug addict and one of the people in the car. Things got worse when that happened.”