Drug dealer who shot at motorhome sent to jail
ASTUDENT drug dealer who fired a gun at a rival drugs gang’s motorhome as a “warning shot” after being stabbed has been jailed.
Alfie Larkin, 24, used a semi-automatic Grand Power 9mm gun to shoot at vehicles in Greenway Road in Cardiff as a terrifying “act of revenge” for an attack which saw him stabbed with a machete.
Earlier this year Cardiff Crown Court heard that “manipulative” computer science student Larkin became involved in the party drug scene in Cardiff after moving to the city in 2017, having secured a scholarship at Cardiff Metropolitan University while at a young offenders institution.
During a trial held in April, the defendant described how he started with a group of drug dealers selling cocaine, ketamine and Ecstasy after struggling with money. But, after starting as a driver for the group earning £500 a week, Larkin moved his way up to managing two drug phone lines worth around £1,000 a day – in what was described as a “large-scale” operation serving the city’s student population.
On the night of the incident on January 12, 2019, residents near Greenway Road described hearing what they believed to be “fireworks” while a car insured by Larkin was seen fleeing the area. The defendant quickly went on to remove the vehicle from his insurance policy.
Gunshot holes were later found in a motorhome and vehicles parked in the th driveway of the th property. Cartridges and ammunition w were located at th the scene, in including nine bullet casings.
Further inquiries led police to the address of a friend of Larkin, where the gun was found hidden within a plant pot that had been filled with cement. The item was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, where an X-ray was carried out to confirm the weapon’s location.
Giving evidence during the trial, Larkin had denied firing the gun in an act of revenge, describing only how he was stabbed in an incident where he was reportedly targeted by an unknown group attempting to rob him of his fake Rolex and a gold car he had borrowed.
But after being found guilty by the jury Larkin went on to admit what had happened and that the shots had been fired at “the vehicles of an organised crime gang”.
During a sentencing hearing held yesterday, it was heard Larkin’s previous convictions included firing a crossbow at a man before stabbing him three times with a knife during an incident in November 2015. The attack left Larkin’s victim in need of surgery with what were described at the time as “life-changing” injuries.
Prior to that, Larkin had appeared before the court in 2014 aged 18 for stabbing another man a “number of times”. Outlining the circumstances, Susan Ferrier, prosecuting, said the man had been walking home with his girlfriend after a funeral when he and Larkin became involved in a “verbal altercation”.
During the hearing, David Taylor, mitigating, stressed that Larkin had previously pleaded guilty to offences related to the supply of cocaine, Ecstasy and ketamine.
He added that the firearm had not been fired at the property.
Giving live evidence during the sentence hearing, character witness Andrea Mohammed described how she had met Larkin at Llandaff Cathedral in June 2018 after the defendant had attended a service.
In answer to questions by Mr Taylor, Ms Mohammed described the defendant as an “intelligent” individual who she believed to be “extremely lost at the time”.
The pair became friends, with Ms Mohammed adding that she believed Larkin saw her as a type of mother figure. She added the two remain in touch thanks to a prison chaplain and that Larkin is in discussions to continue his university education while in custody.
Addressing Larkin, Judge Michael Fitton QC described the defendant as a “pathological liar, a manipulator and a man who represents a very real danger for the future”.
In total, Larkin, of Pyramid House, High Road, London, was handed a 17-year extended sentence comprising 13 years in custody with a fouryear extended licence period.
This includes a five-year sentence for the supply of cocaine, Ecstasy and ketamine and eight years for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear and violence, both of which will be served consecutively.