Man gets life for ramming biker to death after spotting him do wheelie—judge brands act “deliberate”

A driver who hunted down a young biker for performing a wheelie has been jailed for life after deliberately ramming and killing him in a calculated road rage murder.

Abdirahman Ibrahim, 21, showed no emotion as a judge sentenced him to a minimum of 22 years for the brutal killing of Liam Jones, 22, in Birmingham’s Sheldon area last August.

Birmingham Crown Court heard how Ibrahim “weaponised” his Seat Leon, chasing Mr Jones through residential streets before slamming into him twice—fatally throwing him into a bollard. The victim wasn’t wearing a helmet and died at the scene from catastrophic injuries.

Police believe Ibrahim took offence at Mr Jones’s “showboating” wheelie on his e-motorbike and decided to “teach him a lesson.” But Judge Andrew Smith KC told the court the young man had done “nothing to prompt” such a violent, deliberate response.

“You had the car available as a weapon,” the judge said. “You pursued Mr Jones and his friend in a determined and deliberate way, and your actions were designed to cause harm.”

CCTV captured the chilling moments Ibrahim’s car sped close behind Mr Jones, who had been riding with his friend, Tayzhon Johnson. When the pair noticed they were being followed, they tried to escape down a one-way street. But Ibrahim took a different road, racing ahead to intercept them on Moat Lane.

It was there that Ibrahim twice drove into Mr Jones before fleeing the scene. His younger brother, Abdullahi Ibrahim, who was a rear seat passenger during the attack, helped him try to hide the vehicle.

After the collision, the brothers drove off, abandoned the car in another area, and called a taxi home—offering no assistance or remorse for the dying man they left behind.

Judge Smith condemned the cowardly escape, saying: “Your actions in the immediate aftermath of this deliberate collision were governed by a selfish desire to escape the scene and involved no care for Mr Jones.”

During sentencing, the court heard how Liam Jones had been the “spark” of his family—bubbly, fun, and full of life. His senseless death has devastated his loved ones.

Ibrahim, of Bonham Grove, Yardley, showed no reaction as the life sentence was read out. His brother Abdullahi, also of Bonham Grove, had earlier admitted assisting an offender. He was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison.

West Midlands Police said the investigation uncovered no provocation from Mr Jones or his friend—just a horrifying decision by Ibrahim to turn his car into an instrument of violence over what appeared to be a perceived insult or annoyance.

“This was a completely needless and tragic loss of a young life,” said a spokesperson for the force. “Mr Jones posed no threat, nor did he engage in any race or confrontation. What followed was a chilling example of how quickly anger and recklessness can turn deadly.”

Mr Jones’s death continues to send shockwaves through the Sheldon community. A memorial near the crash site has grown in the months since, with tributes and flowers marking the spot where a young life was taken in a moment of pure rage.