Fatal road rage attack suspect held in police raid five months later

FIFTEEN police officers raided a house to arrest a suspected killer who "went to ground" after a fatal attack.

Mohammed Tariq, wanted in connection with an attack on Derby father Johnny Assani, was arrested in a house in Bradford, five-and-a-half months after the incident, a jury was told yesterday.

Mr Assani, 43, died the day after being attacked by a group of at least nine men in Walbrook Road, Derby, on August 14 last year.

Tariq, of Walbrook Road is now on trial at Nottingham Crown Court for manslaughter. He denies the charge.

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His brothers, Mohammed Shahid and Mohammed Rafiq, have already been convicted of killing Mr Assani, who lived in the Pear Tree area.

Police had been searching for Tariq since shortly after the incident, even running a media campaign in a bid to find him.

When they finally discovered he was living in a house in Upper Woodlands Road, Bradford, they went there at 3.30pm on February 8 with a search warrant.

After knocking on the door a number of times and shouting, police spotted Tariq, 26, at an attic window and forced their way into the property, the court was told.

Tariq was arrested in a bathroom of the house.

One of the arresting officers, Detective Constable Matt Vernon, told the jury he noticed Tariq's trousers were wet and they found a mobile phone in the toilet.

Det Con Vernon told the court that Tariq had said he wanted to "come clean", then added "but the situation – oh my God".

The jury also was told yesterday that a match of Tariq's DNA found on Mr Assani did not prove that there was direct contact between the two men.

Forensic scientist Stephen Harrington said there was a one-in-a-billion chance that DNA found under a fingernail on Mr Assani's right hand was not Tariq's or one of his relatives. He added that it did not match the DNA profiles of Tariq's brothers.

Mr Harrington agreed with Tariq's lawyer, Peter Birkett, that the find did not "exclusively establish direct contact between them" but could have been transferred to Mr Assani through a surface that Tariq had previously touched.

Mr Birkett suggested this could have been through an item of clothing that one of his convicted brothers had worn. Mr Harrington said DNA could be transferred through garments.

When asked by prosecuting barrister, Peter Joyce QC, if "direct contact between the two men" would be the obvious method of transfer, Mr Harrington said: "Yes."

The trial continues.