A “stupid” young gangster was jailed for 15 years after being pictured him posing with a shotgun and his initials spelled out in bullets.
Joshua Caldwell, 24, was also linked to a major drugs conspiracy which involved the seizure of heroin and cocaine worth up to £118,308 at street level.
A phone belonging to a co-conspirator was also recovered containing a picture of shotguns, Remington handguns and an antique French pistol next to the “chilling” threat “F*** Dingle rats” spelled out in bullet casings.
Caldwell, of Hillview, in Aigburth, was linked to at least two sawn-off shotguns and a handgun after police investigated a drugs and firearms ring based in Garston and Mossley Hill.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to possess firearms.
Michael Scholes, prosecuting, told the court the investigation began in summer 2014 after a handgun was produced during the course of an argument involving an associate of Caldwell named Anthony Clements, who is still on the run.
Mr Scholes said: “At the Park Cafe, on Elmswood Road near Sefton Park, what you might call a leafy suburb, a weapon described as a handgun was produced during the course of an incident there which the Crown says involved Anthony Clements.
Joshua Caldwell, 24, of Hillview, in Aigburth, jailed for 15 years after posing with a shotgun. He was also jailed over drugs offences
“Members of the public including a child were present. One member of the public who witnessed these events heard the words “this is my f****** patch.”
A flat in Woodlands Road, Mossley Hill, linked to another associate of Caldwell named Adam Wood, was raided by police in August 2014 and found to contain high purity heroin, cocaine and cutting agents.
Police found the antique pistol, a St Etienne ordnance revolver dating back to around 1886, inside a Nike bag as well as a sawn-off Beretta shotgun under foorboards, and some bullets in a box on a desk.
Tick lists containing the names of customers were found, as well as an AA card in the name of Caldwell.
Officers later arrested another co-conspirator, Malik Murphy-Vaughan, at an address nearby.
Joshua Caldwell, 24, of Hillview, in Aigburth, jailed for 15 years after posing with a shotgun. He was also jailed over drugs offences.
Vaughan, who was sent to a young offender’s institute for two years, was found in possession of a Remington pistol and a phone contaning images including the threat to the gang’s rivals, along with three weapons that have never been recovered.
Caldwell was arrested in Mossley Hill on January 25 last year, and two Blackberry mobile phones were seized containing the incriminating pictures.
In one image, Caldwell is holding the Beretta shotgun, which was matched to the one found at Woodlands Road, before it had been sawn-off.
Mr Scholes said: “The images were sent for forensic analysis. Caldwell has very distinctive shaped eyebrows, and his attempts to disguise himself failed pretty miserably.”
Caldwell was released on bail but his then address in Lowbridge Court, was raided in August last year. A search found £15,150 in cash as well as weighing scales, tick lists and drugs paraphanalia.
Lloyd Morgan, representing Caldwell, denied his client was the “Mr Big” of the conspiracy and claimed a leading figure would not be as “bloody stupid” as to take photos of himself holding a shotgun.
He said: “He has a supportive family and both parents are of good character and are in full-time employment. He knows he has let not just himself down, but his whole family down.”
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The court heard he was “horrified” at his behaviour and vowed to change his ways.
Judge Jonathan-Rowe Foster, QC, passing sentence, found Caldwell was a “leading light” in the conspiracy and described the operation as “sophisticated.”
He said: “You were in the centre of both the drugs and firearms conspiracies. Enforcing a drugs trade is to be enforcing yet more misery on those who have succumbed to the addiction and despair….
“This sort of activity is all too prevalent in this great city and those who indulge in it need to know the consequences are real.”
Detective Superintendent Richard Carr, of Merseyside Police Major Crime Unit, said: ““We won’t tolerate criminals who use guns to create fear and intimidation on Merseyside and we are also determined to crackdown on the people who help them by storing and looking after illegal weapons.
“We will be relentless in our efforts to crack down on serious and organised crime and I would continue to appeal to the public to tell us if they know where firearms or drugs are being stored.”
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/