Got him! Police swoop nets ‘unrecognisable’ killer on run for a year
A GANGLAND killer who has been on the run for 18 months was dramatically recaptured when armed police swooped on a quiet residential street.
Video footage showed the moment fugitive Shaun Walmsley, 29, was arrested by officers after being bundled to the pavement.
The arrest came despite his efforts to change his appearance by growing a beard and letting his once closelycropped hair grow to shoulder length.
He was travelling in a white saloon car that was forced to stop by two unmarked police cars in a slick operation in leeds on Tuesday afternoon.
The murderer had been on the ‘most wanted’ list since February last year when armed accomplices ambushed a taxi that was taking him back to prison from a hospital appointment.
Police put up a reward of £20,000 of Walmsley’s own money – seized after his murder conviction – for information leading to his recapture.
Officers discovered where he was hiding out and snatched him in a joint operation involving Merseyside and West Yorkshire police forces. They followed a car he was in and then forced it to stop. Dramatic mobile phone footage taken by witnesses in Roundhay grove in leeds captured the moment he was finally caught.
A team of officers – some with their faces covered and others wearing highvisibility jackets – swooped on the white car and held Walmsley. The video appears to show one other man sitting on the ground a few yards away also being detained.
Yesterday Walmsley appeared before liverpool magistrates via video link. He confirmed his name and date of birth and that he understood the charge of escape from lawful custody. He was remanded in custody to appear at liverpool Crown Court on September 19.
A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: ‘Shaun Walmsley was arrested after armed officers stopped a car in the Harehills district of leeds yesterday.’
Walmsley was jailed for life in June 2015 for the murder of rival drug dealer Anthony Duffy, 33, and ordered to serve at least 30 years.
liverpool Crown Court heard that Walmsley ran a nationwide criminal network with Christopher Kenny, who was also convicted of murder. Walmsley and Kenny lured Duffy to his death after learning he planned to steal £60,000 of cannabis from a farm they ran.
He was stabbed 28 times in May 2014. Walmsley and Kenny were arrested at Manchester Airport trying to flee. less than two years later, Walmsley escaped.
He shed weight to make himself appear ill and was taken to
‘Stabbed 28 times’
Aintree University Hospital – in a taxi because he was listed as a Category B prisoner. He was escorted by three security staff armed only with batons. They were ambushed by two men armed with a knife, a gun and CS gas. The escape led to speculation Walmsley must have had access to a phone in jail.