Dad ‘lost everything’ when love rival blasted him in leg with shotgun
A DRUG dealer has been jailed for more than 11 years after blasting a love rival in the leg with a shotgun – as they both sat in his mum’s Mercedes.
Vincenzo De Falco shot his victim at point blank range before dumping him to the pavement, on January 21 2019.
De Falco’s mum Patricia Dean then took the NHS-leased car to be professionally cleaned, in a failed attempt to get rid of the evidence.
Last month, Dean, 59, was jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of assisting an offender.
At the Bolton Nightingale Court, De Falco, 30, was sentenced to 11 years and three months imprisonment, having previously pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and supplying cannabis.
Prosecution barrister Philip Barnes told the court that De Falco’s girlfriend Lucy Flux was an ex-partner of the victim.
In the weeks leading up to the shooting, Miss Flux and the victim had been texting and it was through her that the man arranged to buy an ounce of cannabis from De Falco.
He travelled from Ashton-underLyne to Rochdale and got into the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which was being driven by De Falco.
The car was leased by Dean, through the NHS, and she allowed her son to drive it as and when he needed it, the court heard.
When inside the car, De Falco confronted the victim about his contact with Ms Flux and shouted: “You think I’m some sort of muppet.”
The victim reassured De Falco that he was just friends with Ms Flux and that there was nothing to worry about.
De Falco then said ‘you want to get shot?’ and the victim noticed a shotgun
pointed towards him. As he shuffled across the back seat to leave, De Falco shot the victim in the leg at point-blank range. The man was then dumped out of the car onto the pavement on Knowsley Street, where passersby called an ambulance.
After several hospital appointments and 56 hours of surgery, the decision was made to amputate the man’s left leg below the knee.
He had to move out of his upstairs flat and move into his auntie’s living room, where she had to help him wash and go to the toilet.
The man’s auntie also had to quit her job to become his full-time carer.
In an impact statement, the victim said: “I didn’t just lose my leg, I lost precious time with my young daughters that I will never get back. I lost my home, my job, my relationship. I lost everything, including myself.”
The man also said he has had suicidal thoughts and had to give up activities that he loved such as football, jogging and cycling.
Defending De Falco, of Kebroyd Lane, Sowerby Bridge, Adam Roxborough said: “He accepts full responsibility for his actions and he truly wishes he could have changed the outcome for [the victim] and his family.”
Mr Roxborough told the court that De Falco has been remanded in custody since his guilty plea in March 2019. While in prison, he has been stabbed and seriously assaulted.
Sentencing De Falco, Judge Tom Gilbart said: “You should be utterly ashamed and appalled that you could do this to another human being.”
Judge Gilbart also imposed a restraining order on De Falco, prohibiting him from visiting or contacting the victim in anyway. The restraining order will remain in place indefinitely.