Yahoo Finance Brothers jailed after young footballer killed in hit-and-run following fight
Two brothers have been jailed over the death of a promising young footballer who was hit by a BMW and sent flying after a fight.
Suel Miguel Monteiro Delgado, 20, died in hospital and his two friends suffered serious injuries when Iftekhar Khondaker plowed into them near Brighton Pier early on 1 December 2019.
It came after a fight, which broke out for unclear reasons, that got so loud it woke up guests sleeping in seafront hotel rooms, Hove Crown Court heard previously.
Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon QC said Delgado had been on a night out when they came across Iftekhar, 34, and his brother Irfan Khondaker, 27. Neither of the parties knew each other but Judge Christine Laing QC said Iftekhar intended to “kill three men”.
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The court heard that as the fight broke out, it moved along a road overlooking the beach before the groups split up.
The Khondakers went to a BMW X6, which they had borrowed from their father.
Iftekhar got behind the wheel and drove it onto the wrong side of the road and accelerated, the court heard.
“It struck three men from that large group as they were still crossing the road, hitting them from behind,” Lumsdon said.
Delgado and his friends were sent into the air by the impact and left “strewn across the road” as the BMW sped off and those who escaped being hit looked on in horror, jurors were told.
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The brothers later got into an Uber and went back to their home in Mitcham, the court heard.
Iftekhar denied murder and two counts of attempted murder while Irfan denied assisting an offender but both were found guilty.
Iftekhar was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years while Irfan was given three years at Hove Crown Court on Thursday.
Judge Laing said: “Suel Delgado was just 20 years old at the time of this death.
“He had his whole life ahead of him to fulfil his potential and continue to make his family proud of him, but that was taken from him.”
Delgado played for West Sussex outfit Loxwood FC in the Southern Combination Premier Division, and the club said it would “miss his cheeky smile, energy and jokes – such a lovely lad to have around the club”.
His mother Sanches Graciete Montero said in a statement: “My son was by best friend, my right hand.
“Suel had so much to live and we had so much to live together.
“My life is destroyed forever.”
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