Two men have been convicted of murdering a man in a drive-by shooting in Upton Park.

Plaistow man Otas Sarkus, 20, died in hospital two days after being shot twice in the head on the evening of August 18 last year.

Four or five rounds were fired and a second man, also 20, was hit in the back but survived, the Old Bailey heard.

A jury deliberated for more than 17 hours to find Dean Adams, 32, of Stevenage Road, East Ham, and Deon Brisport, 30, of Lauriston Road, Hackney, guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to two.

They were also found guilty of the attempted murder of the second man.

Judge Mark Dennis KC remanded the defendants into custody to be sentenced on December 22.

During the trial, prosecutor Sasha Wass KC had said a group of young men were gathered in Raymond Road, near Upton Park Station, at about 10.30pm when “without any warning” a white Volvo swerved towards them at speed as if trying to “ram” them.

The car hit a couple of parked cars and carried on as the young men began to run away, she said.

As the Volvo moved beside them, a window was wound down and four or five shots fired.

Ms Wass had said: “Two rounds of ammunition were fired into the right eye of a young man called Otas Sarkus."

Another round was fired into the back of a second man, she told the court.

He felt something hit his back and ran off, jurors heard.

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It was only after he got on a bus that he realised he was bleeding and must have been shot.

Ms Wass told jurors anyone in the Volvo must have intended to seriously hurt one or more in the group.

She said: “Firstly, the car drove towards a group at speed intending to ram them. Secondly, having failed to injure their target or targets, someone from inside the Volvo pointed and discharged a loaded firearm at the group.”

No-one from the victims’ group saw the gunman or the driver of the car, which had blacked out rear windows, the court heard.

After the shooting, the Volvo, which had been stolen and had cloned number plates, was parked in a quiet cul-de-sac half a mile away and burnt out.

Adams lived in the street where the car had been parked earlier and he was seen getting in and out of the vehicle, jurors heard.

The prosecution alleged Adams was the driver of the Volvo if Brisport was in the back.

Adams’ DNA was found on a piece of clothing in the Volvo, while Brisport’s DNA was on a passenger door handle.

The defendants had declined to give evidence but claimed they were not involved in the shooting.

Det Insp Louise Caveen, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This was a brazen attack carried out on a residential street in the heart of east London that cost one young man his life and left another seriously wounded.

“My thoughts are with Otas’ family who have suffered the most terrible loss. I pay tribute to their strength through these proceedings and I hope they can take some comfort from the verdicts.”

Reporting by PA.