Liam McKerney, 21, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter following a trial.

He was cleared of murder.

Two other men, Lee Moore and Kieran McKerney, Liam's brother, were cleared by the jury of both charges.

Detective Chief Superintendent Graham Gardner said: "In anybody's book this was a tragic and senseless killing of a young man on the streets of Preston.

"To my mind, this stands as a fine example of how anti–social behaviour mixed with alcohol abuse can accelerate from low level disorder to extreme violence.

"This has been a difficult enquiry and I am grateful to members of the Callon community who felt able to give evidence of what they saw on this very sad night.

"As one might expect, this has been an extremely traumatic 18 months or so for the Umarji family.

"They have supported police throughout all stages of the investigation and have been in court for the past eight weeks for this trial

"They have conducted themselves with great dignity and my sympathies remain with them.

"Investigating serious crimes which occur outside at night and amidst other fast moving events are notoriously difficult to prosecute. Witnesses see different things at different times and often only a snapshot of the whole event.

"This can sometimes lead to a confusing picture for juries to decipher. "

Judge Russell acknowledged the dignity of the family throughout the trial and remarked on difficulties for reluctant and confused witnesses.

He congratulated the police on the thoroughness of the investigation and thanked all prosecution and council involved.









Notes to Editors:

At 7.10pm on Friday 21st July 2006, Kevin Bruney was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle on Delaware Street, Preston. Bruney was well known on the Callon estate and news of his death spread quickly.

Whilst Bruney's death and the murder of Shezan Umarji are not connected, the series of events that led to Umarji being fatally stabbed occurred following the motorcycle accident.

Shezan Umarji and his friend were involved in a series of minor disturbances throughout the evening of 21st July 2006.

The first disturbance was at the Capitol Centre at Walton-le-dale, where staff reported that a group of men, including Umarji were being verbally aggressive towards them and appeared to be drunk.

At around midnight, Lee Moore, was riding his mini-motorcycle around the streets of the Callon estate with no lights on and his behaviour attracted attention. People were shouting at him to stop as his actions were seen as disrespectful to Kevin Bruney, who had died earlier.

At around this time, Liam and Kieran McKerney were stood on the corner of Samuel Street and Fishwick Parade, with Liam's heavily pregnant girlfriend. Lee Moore approached the group and they had a conversation. At this point, Umarji and his friend approached them from Samuel Street and a chaotic disturbance ensued.

This resulted in Shezan Umarji being stabbed 14 times on Fishwick Parade and he appears to have staggered a few yards and then died further along the road. Following the stabbing there were further disturbances that took place on the estate.

Whilst the murder was originally treated as a 'racist' murder, it became clear during the investigation that whilst there had been some racist names shouted during the disturbance, the fatal attack on Umarji was fuelled by criminal, not racist, behaviour.

The three men charged with the murder of Shezan Umarji were:

Lee Moore, aged 20 of Fishwick Parade, Preston. He was acquitted of murder and manslaughter following the trial.
Liam McKerney, aged 21 of Samuel Street, Preston. He was found guilty of manslaughter but cleared of murder.
Kieran McKerney aged 18 of Samuel Street, Preston. He was cleared of both charges.