A former Huddersfield man jailed for the murder of a shop worker has had his bid to appeal quickly thrown out of court by top judges.
Simeon Henderson, 35, blasted 27-year-old Nasar Hussain with an automatic weapon at an off-licence in Brookhouse Avenue, Eccles in Manchester, in 2009.
Mr Hussain was serving customers at the off-licence when hitman Henderson strolled in with a paper bag concealing a sub-machine gun and shot him in the chest and stomach.
He was on the run from Huddersfield at the time of the murder.
The killing arose out of a feud between groups in Bolton, but Mr Hussain was not connected to either and was not the intended target.
In 2010, Henderson, formerly of Hollin Avenue in Marsh and Woodville Place in Bradley but living in Chadderton in Greater Manchester at the time of the killing, admitted murder and was later jailed for life at Manchester Crown Court.
He was told he must serve a minimum of 15 years. He had given evidence against others involved and was told he would have been given a much longer prison term otherwise.
But despite owning up to the killing, Henderson launched a challenge to his conviction, which reached the Court of Appeal in London.
However, the appeal did not even get off the ground after Lord Justice Davis refused Henderson permission to bring the appeal so long after conviction.
“There are, for good reason, strict requirements as to time limits for appealing,” said the judge, sitting with Mr Justice Nicol and Mr Justice Choudhury.
"A delay as long as this needs cogent justification if it is to be tolerated. It is important for there to be finality in criminal cases.”
The court heard Henderson admitted the murder and got the relatively short 15 year tariff because of the help he gave to the prosecution of other offenders.
Others were convicted of a variety of offences, but Henderson was the one who pulled the trigger.
Lord Justice Davis said Henderson had put forward a raft of arguments against his conviction which showed a lack of understanding of the law.
Rejecting the “unarguable” complaints, he said: “The position is that he pleaded guilty – he wasn’t convicted after a trial.
“There’s absolutely no evidence of him having been placed under pressure or duress and thereby pleading guilty.”
The judge rejected Henderson’s request for an adjournment of his appeal application and dismissed his case entirely.
