Drive-by shooting duo jailed
TWO men involved in a driveby shooting in Oswaldtwistle have been locked up for more than 13 years.
A court heard that James Lonsdale and Lewis Hannan were in a Range Rover being pursued by five other vehicles driven by ‘rival group’ when an ‘unknown’ man in the car fired a bullet at the lead car from an automatic pistol.
The bullet missed and instead hit a parked Nissan Juke on Stanhill Street, shattering its windows.
Fragments of the bullet then struck the front door of a family home on the street, Preston Crown Court was told. Lonsdale, who was the driver, and Hannan, who was a passenger, admitted being in the Range Rover but neither fired the gun.
CCTV showed a ‘muzzle flash’ as it passed the car fired at, the court heard.
TWO men involved in a drive-by shooting in Oswaldtwistle have been jailed for more than 13 years.
James Lonsdale and Lewis Hannan were in a Range Rover being pursued by five other vehicles from a ‘rival group’ when an ‘unknown’ man in the car fired a bullet from an automatic pistol.
The bullet was aimed at the lead Mitsubishi car from the rival group but missed and instead hit a parked Nissan Juke on Stanhill Street, shattering its windows.
Fragments of the bullet then struck the front door of a family home on the street, Preston Crown Court was told.
Lonsdale, who was the driver, and Hannan, who was a passenger, admitted being in the Range Rover but neither fired the gun.
Prosecutor Geoff Whelan said the shooting at 9pm on January 25 last year was the culmination of a series of incidents over three days involving a ‘feud between two rival groups’.
The court heard how there was a ‘violent disorder’ in Blackburn on January 23 with men brandishing baseball bats, knives, a handgun and a rifle.
On January 25 there was an assault and criminal damage in Lower Darwen which ‘set in train a course of action which was intended as retaliation which ultimately led to the discharge of a firearm in Oswaldtwistle’, the court heard.
Lonsdale, 22, and Hannan, 24, were tasked with collecting an unknown third man from the Britannia Inn pub in Oswaldtwistle and were then seen by the rival group who pursued the car along Haslingden Road and into Oswaldtwistle town centre.
Mr Whelan said when they got to the Stanhill area Lonsdale ‘double backed towards the pursuing vehicles’ and nearby CCTV showed a ‘muzzle flash’ as it passed the Mitsubishi.
Lonsdale, of Catterick, pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm and was jailed for five years. Hannan, of HMP Preston, admitted possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and a separate offence of possessing an imitation handgun in June 2017.
He was jailed for eight years six months.
Judge Nicholas Barker said: “It was a serious weapon with a hollow ended bullet designed to fragment upon impact.
“The risk of serious injury to members of the public was very real.
“This was a public space and no steps were taken by the gunman to mitigate the risk of injury to any.”