Three men get 52 years in prison for carnival gun attack

THREE MEN who launched an attempted murder bid on another man on a street packed with revellers during Leeds West Indian Carnival weekend have been jailed for a total of 52 years.

Leeds Crown Court heard the defendants “hunted down” 42-year-old Jason Bailey before surrounding him outside the Nite Trax club in Chapeltown Road just before 1am on August 29 last year. Timothy Capstick, prosecuting, said Shaquille Liddie, 24, pulled a shotgun from his overcoat and fired it at Mr Bailey, but the weapon apparently misfired.

Mr Capstick added Kemar Ricketts, 28, and 33-year-old former soldier Seoin Allen, attacked Mr Bailey with knives and Allen stabbed him in the left shoulder. The court heard Liddie then aimed the shotgun at Mr Bailey again and shot him in the chest at point blank range.

The prosecutor said Mr Bailey spent four weeks in hospital and have to have follow-up appointments for nine months after being left with shotgun pellets lodged in his body. The violence was caught on closed circuit television footage, which was played to the court during yesterday’s sentencing hearing.

Liddie, of no fixed abode, admitted attempted murder. Ricketts and Allen, also both of no fixed abode, denied attempted murder, but were convicted by a jury after a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Ahmed Nadim, for Liddie, said: “The defendant has no prior convictions for offences of violence.”

Nina Grahame, for Ricketts, said: “This is an out-of-character offence.”

The court was told Allen has seen active service in the British Army and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Judge Guy Kearl jailed Liddie for 14 years and Rickets and Allen for 19 years each, and said: “It is plain from the footage that this was not a spontaneous attack, but that you had hunted him down.”