Man found guilty of policewoman's murder

NEWCASTLE, Dec 18 (Reuters) One man was found guilty today of the murder of policewoman Sharon Beshenivksy who was gunned down at close range during a botched raid on a Bradford travel agency in November last year.

Yusuf Jama, 20, who had admitted during the trial that he was the man who pulled the trigger, was part of a gang that had planned the robbery.

He was found guilty of murder and two firearms charges at Newcastle Crown Court.

Beshenivsky, a mother to five, was killed on November 18 -- her youngest daughter's fourth birthday -- as she and colleague Teresa Milburn answered an emergency call.

The 999 call had been triggered by a secret alarm in the Universal Express agency in the city's Morley Street.

Within seconds both constables had been shot in the chest.

Beshenivsky, 38, died almost instantaneously while Milburn was badly wounded.

The blurred CCTV images of the instant the two officers crumpled to the pavement was one of the defining moments of the trial's start two months ago.

Just days later Jama made a surprise admission when he told the court he was the one who had pulled the trigger. He said the shots had been fired in the heat of the moment and had not been intentional.

Before the trial began, 25-year-old Muzzaker Shah, pleaded guilty to Beshenivsky's murder. He said he had not fired the fatal shot and was cleared of Milburn's attempted murder.

Jama's co-defendant Raza Aslam, who had also been accused of murder, was cleared of all charges today. The jury is still considering a charge of robbery.

The two other defendants, brothers Faisal and Hassan Razzaq were convicted of robbery and two firearms charges while jury is still deciding on charges of murder and possession weapons with intent to endanger life.

The prosecution had argued all the men were guilty of murder regardless of who had fired the fatal shot.

During the trial the jury heard how the men had hoped to get 100,000 pounds from the travel agency which ran a currency exchange and often held large sums of cash.

REUTERS AB KP2215