Man shot outside primary school by gang thugs ‘hunting in pack’
A gang of would-be hitmen hunted a rival “in a pack” and pumped bullets into his car outside a busy primary school.
John Lewis, now 23, who went by the street name ‘Stitch’, was one of four men on two stolen motorbikes who chased a Ford Fiesta, containing victim Jack Hayes, and cornered it at the entrance to the Shell garage on Borough Road, Birkenhead[1], on November 26, 2019.
As Mr Hayes’ then girlfriend, who was driving the car, desperately tried to do a U-turn, a gunman hopped off one of the bikes and fired six shots[2] into the passenger side of the vehicle using a self-loading handgun. A seventh stray bullet missed.
The attack is believed to be related to the ongoing feud between wild, dangerous and ruthless organised crime groups based around the Woodchurch[5] estate and the Beechwood/Ford estate in Wirral. Mr Hayes, from the Beechwood area, was hit in the thigh, arm and shoulder but underwent surgery and survived the attack. He refused to co-operate with police when he was spoken to in hospital. Lewis, from Home Farm Road in Woodchurch, was convicted of involvement in the shooting in June last year after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court[6].
Alongside him in the dock during that case was fellow Woodchurch gang thug Connor Chapman[7], who was found not guilty and released from custody. However less than six months later, on Christmas Eve, Chapman killed "wholly innocent" 26-year-old beautician Elle Edwards[8] in another botched gang hit outside the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey Village.
Lewis appeared for sentence today over the shooting as well as a conspiracy to sell drugs and firearms using EncroChat[9] encrypted phones.
Woodchurch thug John Lewis jailed over shooting man in attempted gangland hit (Image: Merseyide Police)
David Temkin, KC, prosecuting, told the court Lewis and others had gathered the two stolen bikes, one a Suzuki and one a Yamaha, at the address of an associate called William Smith, in Meadway, Upton, who had that day been released from Stoke Heath young offenders institution.
Lewis was riding the Suzuki bike with a pillion passenger who remains unidentified, while another man left on the Yamaha and picked up a pillion passenger, armed with the gun, on the way. During the trial, the prosecution had argued that Chapman was the rider of the Yamaha, but in light of the verdicts Mr Temkin said the Crown must accept that rider is unidentified.
The court heard that the group “went looking” for Jack Hayes, although Mr Temkin said the prosecution have been unable to conclude what the definitive motive was.
Mr Temkin told the court: “The shooting took place at 4.12pm, just in front of the Shell garage, and opposite Christ Church Primary School. The timing of the incident coincided with the end of the school day. At least two schoolchildren can be seen on the Shell garage CCTV.”
Mr Temkin said the prosecution accepted that Lewis was not the gunman, who has not been identified.
David Delap, 34, who was involved in a county lines drug network alongside Woodchurch gang thug John Lewis (Image: Merseyide Police)
He told the court: “The pillion passenger of the Yamaha motorbike fired a gun seven times at Jack Hayes. The gunman had got off the motorbike to do so. His face was covered in black material. Mr Hayes was in the front seat of the Fiesta, which by now was trying to make a U-turn at the entrance of the Shell garage.
“The gunman was in very close proximity to the Ford Fiesta. Those shots were fired from a distance of some 11.45 metres.”
CCTV showed how Lewis and his pillion passenger stopped close by on the Suzuki bike and appeared to be watching the shooting, until the gunman hopped back onto the Yamaha and the four men sped away.
The court heard they were seen travelling along the M53 motorway at speeds of around 100mph, and eventually dumped the bikes and attempted to hide them under leaves and branches in an area of woodland in Willaston.
Mr Temkin said the bikes were found and Lewis’s DNA was recovered from the handle of the Suzuki.
He said: “In the days following the shooting, Lewis used his mobile telephone to search the internet for shootings in the Wirral area and for information about police firearms searches in and around Birkenhead. Snapchat messages on that device between Lewis and his girlfriend suggested that he was making efforts to change his clothing very shortly after the shooting.”
Lewis had also made a more basic mistake. Mr Temkin said at the time of the shooting he was on bail after being charged with a cannabis related offence, and had to wear an electronically monitored ankle tag which tracked all his movements and put him in the area of the shooting.
Drugs trafficked by John Lewis (Image: Merseyide Police)
He was arrested on November 27, 2019, but refused to answer questions in interview and was released under investigation.
The court heard that despite being under investigation for the shooting, Lewis spent the next year jointly running a large scale drug dealing conspiracy.
Mr Temkin said he was identified as the user of the EncroChat handle ‘BlazeBat’, who along with an unidentified associate behind the handle ‘Nodaysoff’, trafficked commercial quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis between their base in Woodchurch and Rhyl in North Wales, with some packages of drugs also being sent to Exeter in Devon.
Alongside running drugs, Lewis acted as a “middle-man” for the sale of a terrifying array of machine guns and semi-automatic handguns. In discussions with other EncroChat users, Lewis shared a shopping list including AK47 assault rifles, Skorpion sub-machine guns of the same type used in Elle Edwards’ murder, as well as Uzis and self-loading handguns.
Also appearing in court today was fellow Woodchurch drug dealer David Delap, 34, who used the EncroChat handle ‘SantasHelper’. While Delap was below Lewis and Nodaysoff in the gang hierarchy, he had a “managerial” role and was responsible for giving orders to “runners”, storing and bagging large quantities of crack and heroin and dispatching packages of drugs to be sold on the streets.
The court heard the gang were meticulous about counting their costs, paying expenses to their henchmen “in an organised way”, booking hotels for their drug runners and logging expenses and overheads involved in trips to Wales or Devon in detailed messages.
Paul Wood, defending Delap, described his client as a “loving father” who had been struggling with a cocaine addiction himself.
The court heard this was corroborated by a message to Delap from Nodaysoff in March, 2020, which said: “Only do 28 grams worth bro need to stop avin [sic] charlie all ye wage spend on that serious”.
On May 18, Delap inadvertently helped the police identify Lewis as ‘BlazeBat’, however, by telling another EncroChat user that: “Stitch never make it to Rhyl he bin boxed in by police”. Police, who had intelligence that Lewis was known as ‘Stitch’, made checks and it turned out Lewis had indeed been stop-checked by police near Rhyl.
Piles of cash sent on EncroChat devices linked to Woodchurch gang thug John Lewis (Image: Merseyide Police)
Lewis had also shared details about himself including the postcode for his home address, the date he passed his driving test, his son's birthday and his own birthday.
Mr Temkin told the court: “The recovered data gave some clues as to Lewis’ lifestyle during the relevant period. He had access to a number of vehicles; he was likely to have been living on a part-time basis in a flat in Parliament Street in Liverpool; he referred to having to pay £1,000 in rent. He also negotiated the sale of a Rolex watch to another Encrochat user.”
While Delap pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and ecstasy.
Mr Wood said Delap had spent both national covid lockdowns in custody on remand, which had a “dramatic effect” on him being able to see his young daughter.
Lewis denied any of the offences against him, but in June 2022, was convicted of wounding Mr Hayes with intent, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possessing ammunition without a certificate.
In the EncroChat case, which went to a retrial earlier this year, Lewis was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis and conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons.
Gordon Cole, KC, defending Lewis, told the court his client had also been in custody for a lengthy period on remand. He said: "The most important feature is his age. He was 19 when these offences started, he is now 23 years-of-age. One feature of the pre-sentence report is that the decision making of young men can very often be affected by a lack of maturity.
"John Lewis has now matured considerably. He has been in custody now for a period of three years - it’s a lengthy period of time to reflect, and an important period to reflect on the basis of his increased maturity. The court will know he is also the father of a young child.
Judge Stuart Driver, KC, passing sentence, concluded that Lewis was a dangerous offender in legal terms. He said: "I have no doubt at all that you are a very dangerous offender. There's a significant risk you will cause serious harm to members of the public by committing further specified offences in the future."
Judge Driver noted that Merseyside Police submitted a community impact statement describing a serious gun crime problem in Wirral at the time of the offences.
He described how Lewis and his associates were "hunting in a pack" at the time of the shooting, and said: "I'm particularly concerned that others were at risk due to the timing and location of the offence."
Lewis was jailed for a total of 24 years with an extended five years on licence, comprising of a 13 year sentence for the drugs and firearms conspiracy with a consecutive 11 year extended sentence for the shooting.
Delap was sentenced to five and a half years for the drugs offences, meaning he could be eligible for release after time served on remand.
Speaking after the hearing, local policing Chief Inspector Duncan Swan, one of the senior officers in EVOLVE Wirral, said: "We know the destruction that drug supply causes and the serious violence that goes hand in hand with such criminality.
"Merseyside Police remains relentless in our pursuit of these criminals using all the powers and legislation available to us to stop the scourge of organised crime groups and we are working hard with our partners in EVOLVE Wirral to regenerate the areas that have been blighted by gangs."
References
- ^ Birkenhead (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ six shots (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Live court updates as Natalie Bennett gives evidence over Kasey Anderson murder (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Liverpool 'cartel' go on trial in Greece over '£42m cocaine plot' (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Woodchurch (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Liverpool Crown Court (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Connor Chapman (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Elle Edwards (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ EncroChat (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)