Sheku Kamara (born 15 November 1987) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. After his football career ended he was imprisoned for his role fin an armed robbery.

Career

Having been an apprentice at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, Kamara signed professional forms for Watford in June 2006 after a trial spell. Kamara's 2006–07 pre-season was disrupted with a knee injury which it was initially feared would keep him out for the entire season. However the injury was proved to be less serious than originally thought, only keeping him out of action for around a month. Kamara made his first professional appearance on 19 September 2006, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Dominic Blizzard Dominic John Blizzard (born 2 September 1983) is an English actor, and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He worked his way through the Watford youth side and turned professional at the club in 2002. In 2007, he joined Sto ...

in the League Cup second round victory over Accrington Stanley. In November 2006 Kamara joined

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

on a six-week loan deal. He played for the Essex club four times during his time at the club before returning to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

the following January. Following a number of trials, Sheku rejoined the

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

outfit on non-contract terms and made his second debut in front of the

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

cameras A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

against Halifax Town, coming on as a substitute.

Arrest and sentence

On 1 May 2008, Sheku Kamara was sentenced to eight years in jail for his involvement in an armed robbery. He was arrested as part of a gang of criminals who would confront civilians with a

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

and ask for their possessions, including

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch often used to carry small personal items such as paper currency, credit cards; identification documents such as driver's license, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, business cards and oth ...

s and pin numbers. In passing sentence, the judge described the men's actions as well-planned and intentional banditry of the worst order. He commended the arresting officers for their bravery and the investigating team for the professionalism of their work.Three men sentenced to 21 years
Metropolitan Police The three men were identified and arrested, in late November 2007, after local police increased patrols and

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

was monitored in response to a spate of similar robberies in the area during November 2007. The victims of these robberies were threatened at gunpoint and had credit cards, cash and other valuables stolen. They would then be forced to provide their

PIN A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

and one of the robbers would go to a nearby cash machine and withdraw money. Kamara was charged with five counts of robbery and five counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Two firearms believed to have been used in the robberies were also recovered during the investigation, a gas-powered airsoft gun, modelled on a Smith & Wesson pistol and a .177 calibre air pistol.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamara, Sheku 1987 births Living people People educated at Colfe's School English people of Sierra Leonean descent Sportspeople of Sierra Leonean descent English men's footballers Men's association football defenders National League (English football) players Watford F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Lambeth