The boy who led a violent cannabis gang in shootings and fires was only 16 years old


The leader of a gang who ruthlessly ordered three shootings and an arson attack on a family’s home was a boy just 16, a court was told.

Harry O’Brien, now 17, who brought terror to the streets of Dingle, Liverpool, in a fight with two families, has been locked up for almost 10 years. Other members of his gang were also sentenced to prison terms.

O’Brien’s youth means he would not normally be publicly named. But ECHO they report that they convinced a judge that it was in the public interest to lift the information restrictions in their case, so that the extent of their crimes could be revealed.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that O’Brien controlled a line of “grafts”, running a group of dealers who sold cannabis on the streets of Dingle. But his lucrative trade was exposed after a dispute with the Franchetti and Rosario families led to three shootings in three weeks on the south side of the city.

In a terrifying incident, bullets were fired from an Audi at a BMW, as the two cars raced side by side through the city at night. A stray bullet went through the front door of a “totally innocent” family’s home.

A gunman on an electric bike riddled a family’s living room with bullets and fired into another victim’s bedroom. Ultimately, O’Brien poured gasoline into a home’s mailbox and set it on fire, forcing a mother and her children to flee the flames for their lives.

The court heard all the attacks against members and associates of two families, the Franchettis and the Rosarios. They followed a ramming attack on a BMW car in which his mother was driving O’Brien.

Judge Neil Flewitt QC said he had no doubt they were “the manifestation of a feud” between O’Brien’s gang and “others” with whom they had a “real or perceived grievance, the nature of which has not emerged”. He said: “Sadly, the lives of totally innocent people, including young children, were put at risk by the callous and cowardly actions of everyone involved.”

O’Brien planned and participated in all three shootings, “orchestrated” the arson, and the cannabis trade was “his business.” David Temkin, QC, prosecutor, said: “Harry O’Brien was at the center of the crime in this case.”

Michael McClean, also 16 at the time, and Aaron Donohoe, then 19, were his “lieutenants,” given “managerial responsibility” over his drug trade. Daniel Lawler, 19, joined O’Brien in carrying out two of the shootings, all of which involved the same Glock semi-automatic pistol, which has not been recovered.

The first shooting took place late on December 29, 2020, after the occupants of a silver BMW X5, which was driving through Dingle looking for O’Brien and his gang, deliberately rammed the BMW being driven by O’Brien’s mother. O’Brien, Christine McPartland. Her passengers included her son, McClean, Donohoe and a fourth unknown man on board.

He called the police at 10:30 p.m. to report the accident on Beresford Road, while his son and his gang contacted Lawler, who had previously helped acquire a stolen Audi with fake plates. Mr. Temkin said: “What happened next was revenge.”

Armed with the loaded gun, O’Brien, McClean, Donohoe and the fourth man set off in the Audi, with banned driver McClean at the wheel. Three shots were fired at the BMW on Dingle Lane, one of which pierced the front door of a “shocked” couple and their seven-year-old son’s house.

QC said evidence provided by Lawler revealed that O’Brien was in “some kind of dispute” with the Franchetti family and Rosario. Over the next three weeks, while staying at the Staybridge Suites Hotel on Keel Wharf, O’Brien arranged to purchase a Sur-Ron electric bicycle.

O’Brien and Lawler set off on the bike, one armed with the gun, on January 8, 2021. Just after 8:45 p.m., Donna Rosario called police to say shots had been fired at her Sundridge home. Street.

Temkin said: “She, her partner Ian Franchetti and their daughter were in their living room at the time.” Three bullets were found embedded in the wall and ceiling of her room.

Just after 1 a.m. on January 20, O’Brien and Lawler, on the same bicycle, attacked the Heffey family on Beloe Street and shot into an upstairs bedroom where Joel Heffey, 24, a partner, was sleeping. by Ian Franchetti Jr.

The gang then targeted the Dingle Lane home of Claire Bowness, home with her three teenage children. Mr. Temkin said: “Ian Franchetti Sr. is the uncle of those children.”

QC said the arson was the “creation” of O’Brien, who sought the help of a 14-year-old boy from Toxteth, whose name cannot be identified for legal reasons. O’Brien also recruited Sian Kanu, then 19, who recruited Mohammed Mohammed, then 19, to carry out the attack.

The boy filled a canister with petrol at a Shell garage on Aigburth Road on February 1. Mohammed took him to Mrs. Bowness’s house on February 5, shortly after 8 am. Mr Temkin said: “The fire spread somewhat to the property, moving from the hallway, to the stairwell and to the upper floor.

“Claire Bowness and the children, with their dog, managed to escape through the rear of the property. However, all required medical treatment for smoke inhalation.”

On February 12, police raided the home of O’Brien’s grandparents, who lived next door to him on Buckland Street, Aigburth. They found £13,590 in cash in a plastic bag in the loft. One note had the fingerprint of his grandson.

O’Brien was also seen with wads of cash at the Adagio Hotel and Elif restaurant in Liverpool city center on April 26. He was arrested on July 1 at his aunt’s house on Aigburth Road, where police found cannabis worth an estimated £5,000 plus cash. , mobile phones, two knives and an axe.

Police also raided the home of Nathan Kelly, 28, a client of O’Brien’s gang, on Lee Park Avenue, Belle Vale, on April 21. Officers found a .22 rimfire revolver loaded with eight bullets in a disused fish tank on his balcony. .

They also discovered a bag containing 36 .22 Remington cartridges suitable for the gun and nine other bullets. In the communal gardens outside, police recovered a Colt .41 revolver, wrapped in a black garbage bag.

O’Brien admitted to conspiring to possess a firearm with the intent to instill fear of violence, and conspiring to commit arson by being reckless as to whether life would be in danger. He also admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Richard Pratt, QC, defending, said O’Brien had “past diagnoses of ADHD” and was described as “a risk taker.” And he added: “It may well be that these illnesses, through no fault of their own, have contributed to this behavior.”

Judge Flewitt locked O’Brien up for nine years and eight months, with a three-year license extension. He must serve at least two-thirds of that sentence behind bars before he can apply for parole.

Lawler, 21, of Halewood Road, Woolton, was found guilty at trial of firearms offenses and admitted unrelated charges of dangerous driving and handling of stolen property. He was locked up for eight years, with a two-year license extension. He, too, must serve at least two-thirds of that term.

McClean, 18, from Upper Warwick Street, Toxteth, admitted cannabis and firearms offences, and was locked up for eight and a half years. Donohoe, 20, from Bewey Close, Toxteth, admitted cannabis and firearms offenses and was jailed for six years and four months.

Jurors were unable to reach a verdict against Kanu, 20, of Amity Street, Toxteth, on the arson charge. He admitted to participating in the criminal activities of an organized crime group. He was locked up for two years and three months.

The unnamed boy, now 15, admitted to the arson plot. He was served with a two-year Juvenile Rehabilitation Order, with a six-month residential curfew between 8:00 pm and 7:00 am daily.

Mohammed, 20, of Kingsley Road, Toxteth, and Kelly, 28, of Lee Park Avenue, will be sentenced at later dates.

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Reference-www.cambridge-news.co.uk

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