Three men have been jailed for their parts in ‘tit-for-tat’ shootings in Nottingham.
A jury heard how a shooting at a car in Tennyson Street, Radford, on 3 August 2018 was reciprocated with a revenge shooting weeks later in Oldknow Street, Radford, on 21 August. Thankfully, while causing minor damage, both shots missed their targets.
The incidents formed part of Operation Snapper – a complex investigation into the supply, distribution and management of firearms relating to a gang grounded in the St Ann’s area of Nottingham.
Members of the gang were feuding with several rival gangs from across the city. One of these rival gangs operated from the Radford area and the tension between them led to a string of vicious incidents involving guns and knives.
In April 2019, four people were jailed for their involvement in the second ‘revenge’ shooting. In November 2019 three others were jailed for a further foiled plot from March 2019.
It can now be reported that two men – Richard Burnett and Traequam Lambert – were recently jailed at Nottingham Crown Court for assisting those who carried out the Oldknow Street shooting, as well as for their involvement in the March 2019 plot, following a trial that concluded in March this year.
The sentencings took place on 19 May 2022 but reporting restrictions have prevented the publication of any details until now.
Burnett, 28, of HMP Nottingham, was sentenced to 24 years after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and three counts of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
Lambert, 22, of HMP Nottingham, was sentenced to 18 years after the same jury found him guilty of the same offences as Richard Burnett. The judge said he was satisfied Richard Burnett was the “ring-leader” and that Lambert had played a “lesser role” – and that this was reflected in the respective sentencings.
A third defendant – Rudy Burnett – was also sentenced for his part in the March 2019 incident. The 30-year-old, of Cavendish Road, Carlton, was sentenced to 11 years after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
They will all serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on licence.
Delivering the sentencings, Judge Steven Coupland said the revenge shooting involving Richard Burnett and Lambert had been a “terrifying incident that created a real risk of injury or worse”.
He added the foiled plot from March 2019 – in which all three defendants armed themselves with knives, a truncheon and a loaded pistol and went looking for rival gang members in a van – was equally disturbing.
The judge said: “You drove around looking for people. It was just luck that you missed them. I have no doubt that had you found them, these people would have been attacked by your group, wearing balaclavas and using these weapons.
“What you have been convicted of is incredibly serious.”
Following the sentencings, Detective Inspector Mark Adas said: “This was a complex investigation undertaken by a large regional team into a tit-for-tat gang rivalry that culminated in the use of guns on Nottinghamshire’s streets.
“It was only a matter of time before a bullet was going to make contact with a person – intended target or not – and no doubt result in very serious harm or even death. With support from the force, we have been able to root out those responsible and remove them and their deadly weapons from society.
“Organised criminal gangs should be under no doubt that the police possess significant specialist investigative capabilities and will use them to break up their activities and keep our communities safe.”
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, added: “I welcome the sentences delivered at court today following a significant criminal investigation.
“We have always made clear that Nottinghamshire Police will utilise every available resource when seeking to bring firearms offenders to justice, and this case again demonstrates that those who think it is somehow acceptable to use weapons on our streets will be brought to justice.
“If you have any information about those involved in gun crime, or who knows where weapons are being stored, please keep contacting us so that these positive results continue.”
TIMELINE:
3 August 2018: A gun is fired at a car in Tennyson Street, Radford. The person who fired at that car was doing it to say that it was not welcome in Radford, nor were the men within it, because they were from St Ann’s.
21 August 2018: A different weapon was fired at a man in Oldknow Street, Radford. Mercifully he was not hurt. This second shooting was an act of revenge for the first.
1 March 2019: St Ann’s gang member Lewis Anderson is goaded by three rival gang members outside a Co-op in Arnold Road, Bestwood. Anderson left the scene and plotted with three other men to get revenge. They went out looking for the rival gang members armed with a pistol and two knives. Police foiled their plot by arresting Anderson and his three co-conspirators before they found the rival gang members.
5 April 2019: Five people are sentenced over the shooting on 21 August 2018.
- Ravel McClean, 18, of Pearmain Drive, St Ann’s, was the shooter and was sentenced to seven years and two months in custody, and two years and ten months on extended licence.
- Savannah McDevitt, 20, of Markham Crescent, Sherwood, admitted possessing a shotgun with intent to cause fear of violence. She received five years in youth custody, three years concurrently for theft and having ammunition, and a two-and-half year sentence for drugs offences consecutively. Her total sentence was seven-and-a-half years.
- Nathan Winfield, 27, of Elgar Gardens, St Ann’s, pleaded guilty to possessing two shotguns. He received a total sentence of seven years and two months.
- Mary Turton, 36, of Sargent Gardens, St Ann’s, pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and received two-and-a-half years in prison. She received ten months concurrently for possessing the second shotgun.
- Sarah Burgess, 28, of George Street, Mansfield, who admitted assisting an offender, was given two years in prison, suspended for two years, and 200 hours of unpaid community work.
27 November 2019: Lewis Anderson and two co-conspirators are jailed over their revenge plot after Anderson was goaded outside the Co-Op in Arnold Road, Bestwood, on 1 March 2019. All three were found guilty of conspiring to have a firearm to cause fear of violence and conspiring to wound to do grievous bodily harm.
- Anderson, 25, of Thane Road, Nottingham, was locked up for 16 years.
- Dean Johnson, 26, of Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, and Anton Daniels, 29, of Cairns Close, Bestwood, both received 14 years.
- Jason Dickson, 47, of Ashover Close, St Ann’s, was found not guilty on the conspiracies – but found guilty of possessing a prohibited firearm. This was met with a five-year sentence consecutive to six months for breaching a suspended sentence.
19 May 2022: Following a trial, Richard Burnett, 28, and Traequam Lambert, 22, are jailed for 24 years and 18 years respectively for assisting those involved in the ‘revenge’ shooting on 21 August 2018, as well as for their involvement in the March 2019 plot. A jury found them guilty of conspiracy to wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and three counts of possession of an offensive weapon on a public place. A third defendant – Rudy Burnett, 30, is sentenced to 11 years after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in relation to the March 2019 incident.
