A murderer tried to blame a mystery masked gunman for shooting and killing a man before changing his story and attempting to blame the victim for what happened.
Jack Preston dialled 999 shortly after the shooting and immediately told the first of a series of lies about what had happened to his victim, Coel Tainton.
First, he blamed a mystery masked gunman, claiming the man had fled into the night after bursting into his kitchen in the early hours of 28 February this year.
His story began to unravel when the gun was found outside.
Preston, seeking from an early stage to explain why he’d be forensically linked to the weapon, claimed to have grabbed it from the fictional intruder.
A shopping bag containing shotgun cartridges was also discovered under the stairs at the address in Ryeland Gardens, The Meadows.
Subsequently officers also found a mobile phone video showing him messing about with the same weapon earlier that evening.
In the weeks that followed, Preston completely changed his story, claiming that Coel had tried to rob him and had been shot during the ensuing struggle.
He claimed he had moved the gun into the garden to keep it away from his victim, whom he had left dying on the kitchen floor.
While he admitted the firearms offence and assaulting a police officer during his arrest, Preston denied murder on the grounds that he had acted in self-defence.
After a trial earlier this month, a jury at Nottingham Crown Court found him guilty of murder.
Appearing at the same venue today (Thursday 24 September), he was jailed for 28 years.
Detective Inspector Clare Gibson, of the Major Crime Team at East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: “As his victim lay dying, Preston’s thoughts turned almost immediately to covering his tracks.
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“The idea of a mystery gunman always seemed extremely unlikely and was quickly disproved by the available evidence.
“Ultimately, only one person now knows exactly what happened inside that address, and that is Jack Preston.
“However, rather than tell the truth, he told lie after lie in a bid to cover his tracks and avoid accountability for his own actions.
“His claim that Coel was somehow to blame for his own death was particularly egregious and I am pleased the jury dismissed it for the fabrication it was.
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“Coel’s family and friends acted with the utmost dignity throughout the trial and they would like to pass on their thanks to every police officer and staff member who worked on the investigation.
“I hope that today’s sentence provides them with some comfort.”
