Brother of Elle Edwards’ murderer banned from home estate as police launch gang crackdown

Connor Chapman’s brother Lewis was shot before the events on Christmas Eve which saw “wholly innocent” beautician Elle Edwards killed. He has now been made subject to a gang injunction

Lewis Chapman(Merseyide Police)

The brother of gangland killer Connor Chapman has been banned from entering his home estate, riding motorbikes and isn’t allowed to have a phone unless it’s registered.

Lewis Chapman has today been hit with a court order imposing a raft of restrictions aimed at reducing violence and gang-related crime in the Wirral. Lewis, 22, is the younger brother of the cowardly killer who sprayed the front of the Lighthouse Pub, Wallasey Village, with bullets shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve last year killing beautician Elle Edwards.

Connor Chapman had been aiming for two rival gang members, Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy, who were stood close to Elle and were also wounded, along with three other innocent bystanders. Detectives concluded that the shooting was the “culmination” of a long-running feud between Chapman’s gang, based around the Woodchurch estate, and a rival firm based around the Ford/Beechwood estate on the opposite side of the M53 motorway.

Connor Chapman was convicted of Elle’s murder, the attempted murders of Salkeld and Duffy, and injuring three men. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years at Liverpool Crown Court on July 7. During his sentencing hearing, Nigel Power, KC, prosecuting, described how his younger brother Lewis had also been shot in Moreton, on August 10. Mr Power described that incident as a “significant precursor event” to the shooting on Christmas Eve.

Connor Chapman shown in a police custody picture from 2021(Liverpool echo)

Merseyside Police ^[1] has revealed that Lewis Chapman has been made the subject of a gang injunction imposed by Liverpool County Court following an application from force solicitors. The notice was served on Lewis Chapman yesterday and will remain in force until March 2025. The conditions of the order mean Chapman is prohibited from:

• Associating and communicating with a number of names individuals by any means• Entering the Woodchurch or Beechwood/Ford estates unless given prior written authority from Merseyside Police• Either directly or indirectly using or threatening to use violence against people or property, including by phone or internet• Either directly or indirectly engaging in any abusive or threatening conduct including by phone or internet• Being in possession of any Class A or B drug• Being in possession of any equipment for use in the manufacture, cultivation or distribution of any Class A or B drugs• Possessing more than one mobile phone or sim card, which must be registered• Riding or being a passenger on any electrically powered bike or scooter, any quad bike, motorbike, scrambler bike, trial bike, or any other type of two-wheeled motorised bike within the county of Merseyside.

Any breaches of the prohibitions could result in him being arrested and taken to court, the Liverpool Echo reports. Chief Inspector Duncan Swan said: “Our officers are dedicated to disrupting the lives of those who are prepared to engage in criminality and by doing so make a positive difference to the communities where these individuals have been causing harm and distress. Together with our partners we are using all the powers and legislation available to us to crackdown on gang-related activity and gang injunctions form part of our continued work to make Birkenhead and the surrounding areas safer places to live, work and visit.

References

^{^} Merseyside Police (www.mirror.co.uk)