Thug hurled loaded shotgun from car during police chase
A DRIVER threw a loaded sawn-off shotgun from his car in a dramatic police chase at the Trafford Centre – which came to an end after he smashed into two vehicles.
Daniel Murdoch, 41, was spotted by on duty cops driving through a red light and asked him to pull over.
Instead he did a u-turn and sped off in the opposite direction towards the Trafford Centre reaching speeds of 80mph in a 30mph zone, weaving in and out of traffic and driving through two more sets of red traffic lights.
At one stage he threw a bag out of the window, which officers later found contained a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
The police pursuit came to an end when Murdoch attempted to squeeze through a gap between two cars causing extensive damage – and was later detained by members of the public and police.
Footage of his arrest was shared with the M.E.N., which shows officers wrestling with a man in orange high-vis trousers and a grey vest in front of stunned shoppers and motorists at the Bridgewater Circle roundabout.
When his home was searched, officers found another firearm hidden in a bag of children’s toys.
Murdoch, from Stockport, pleaded guilty to having a loaded shotgun in a public place, possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition and dangerous driving. Simon Barrett, prosecuting, said the incident took place on May 9 this year at around 12.45pm when officers became aware of Murdoch driving a white VW Golf on Liverpool Road in Eccles.
“They pulled him over and the defendant was shouting that he was being followed and questioning if the officer was genuine,” he said. “The defendant appeared to be under the influence of drink or drugs.”
A high-speed police pursuit ensued to the point Murdoch threw a bag from the car and sped off, shortly after he collided with the two cars nearby. He was taken to the ground and restrained on the floor near to the roundabout. Police went back to the car and found two Staffordshire Bull Terriers in the back of the car, and on his person they found three bags of cocaine and £516 in cash.
Two days later, officers attended at Gorton Road and found another sawn-off shotgun in a bag of children’s toys, along with body armour and a spent shotgun cartridge. Murdoch’s DNA was found on the trigger.
He later put forward a basis of plea in which he explained he was in debt to drug dealers who asked him to look after the weapons for three weeks and drop them off at another location. He also said that on the way to that location he decided to hand them into the police as threats had been made towards him and his family. Mitigating, Robert Dudley said: “You have a series of events on that day which were bizarre, he was clearly paranoid and under the influence.” Sentencing, Judge Angela Nield said unless he sorted out his drug addiction ‘you will find yourself more and more in the criminal underworld, and that will lead you to spending the rest of your life detained in prison.’
Murdoch, of Gorton Road, Reddish, was jailed for six-and-a-half years and banned from driving for six years and three months. He must also take an extended re-test.
You have a series of events on that day which were bizarre Robert Dudley, defending