Pa Salieu sentenced to nearly three years in prison after admitting violent disorder
Rapper Pa Salieu has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for his part in an attack on a lone victim in 2018.
The music artist was jailed on Friday (2 December) after previously admitting to violent disorder at a previous hearing.
He was sentenced on both the violent disorder charge and for possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon.
Salieu – full name Pa Salieu Gaye – was nearby when a fight near a nightclub in Coventry town centre broke out in the early hours of 1 September 2018.
The altercation resulted in Salieu’s best friend, Fidel Glasgow, being fatally stabbed. No one has ever been charged with his murder.
Salieu, known for his song “Frontline”, was part of a group of men that chased a man from the scene to another location.
The 23-year-old man they chased was attacked by the group. His injuries required emergency surgery and he ended up spending 10 days in hospital.
The artist had been caught on CCTV using a tree branch to repeatedly hit the man, which led to him admitting to the violent disorder charge.
Salieu was also convicted of possessing a broken bottle as an offensive weapon.
Judge Peter Cooke told Salieu in court: “Anyone harbouring the view that you are a young man being hard done by should pause to reflect that despite having a conviction for carrying a knife three years earlier – which resulted in a suspended sentence – in the course of these events you used two bottles and a stick.
“It was your intention to turn a bottle into a jagged weapon.”
He then told the rapper that he wanted him to “focus on getting your life back on track... coming out and making the most of your talents, which I trust you will be able to do”.
