Boyfriend of murder victim jailed for drug offences
The boyfriend of a woman who was killed in a shooting has been jailed for five years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Ashley Dale, 28, was killed when a gunman forced his way into her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, in August 2022 following a feud between her attackers and her boyfriend Lee Harrison, 27.
On Friday, Liverpool Crown Court heard Harrison had been jointly in control of a line supplying crack cocaine and heroin in October and November last year.
He and co-accused Terence Rice were stopped in a BMW X3 after travelling into Liverpool through the Wallasey tunnel on November 25, the court heard.
Holly Menary, prosecuting, said: 'Lee Harrison was observed to be very agitated and nervous when stopped.'
She said Harrison, in the passenger seat, was holding an iPhone but refused to provide police with the PIN.
Ms Menary said a Nokia mobile phone found in the car was used for a drugs line which had sold class A drugs on at least 247 occasions, with a street value of up to £22,230, during October and November.
Officers searched Harrison's address on Liverpool Road, Huyton, which he shared with his mother Sharon, and found cocaine with a value of up to £11,900 as well as adulterant for cocaine, scales and small plastic bags.
He admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and possessing cocaine with intent to supply at a hearing in December.
Stephen McNally, defending Harrison, said: 'This offending came on the back of a difficult period in his life for reasons which he does not wish me to ventilate in open court, which I stress he does not claim excuse any of his offending.
'He suffered a significant bereavement in his life. Following that he lost his employment, lost his home, returned to living with his mother and had to claim benefits to make ends meet.'
He said Harrison had sought a 'quick fix' for his financial situation.
He added: 'He was a foot soldier who was required to get his hands dirty.'
Sentencing Harrison, the judge said: 'This is serious offending, not least because class A drugs, particularly, destroy people's lives and you were making a commercial business out of destroying people's lives.
'These drugs break up families, corrode society, they very adversely affect people's mental health and wellbeing, and you were making a trade out of that misery.'
Harrison, appearing by videolink from HMP Liverpool, showed no reaction to the sentence.
A trial in 2023 heard he had been 'totally unco-operative' with police following his partner's murder.
Ms Dale, an environmental health worker for Knowsley Council, was shot by gunman James Witham, 42, who opened fire with a Skorpion submachine gun in her home in the early hours of August 21 2022.
Witham and three other men – Niall Barry, 28, Sean Zeisz, 29, and Joseph Peers, 30 – were convicted of her murder last year and all sentenced to minimum terms of more than 40 years.
Their trial heard a feud between Barry and Harrison, which started years before over the theft of drugs, was 'reignited' at the Glastonbury festival in June 2022.
Voicenotes and messages sent to friends by Ms Dale in the two months before her death were played during the trial describing the fall-out.
Ms Dale's mother Julie Dale previously described Harrison as 'absolutely despicable'.
Speaking after the murder trial, she said: 'We've had no remorse from him. We've had no support from him. We have no admittance that it's anything to do with him.
'He still carries on going about his life, leaving the country, going on holidays, lording it up, shall we say, like nothing's happened and nothing's changed for him, and it's absolutely disgusting, it really is.'
Harrison's co-accused, Rice, of Bearwood Road, Kirkby, was sentenced to five years and two months for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin, as well as offences of affray, drug and drink-driving and obstructing a police officer relating to an incident in Cumbria last June.
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In a statement which was read to the court to his behalf, he described being left with a three-to-four inch scar to his forearm as a result of an altercation which supposedly concerned his "football club leaving the league". He added: "My son saw me bleeding and was completely distraught. The trauma has deeply affected him. He has become anxious, withdrawn and fearful. Football now causes him worry and fear. The idea that something so violent could happen in a setting meant to promote teamwork is deeply upsetting." Liverpool Echo reports Mr Cockrell said: "There has clearly been some background and build up to it over some considerable time. In reality, it all relates to, on the face of it, a relatively minor disagreement." When Judge David Swinnerton remarked that "one wonders what makes a man of good character take a Stanley blade to a leisure centre over a row over children's football". Mr Cockrell continued: "There is something about football, particularly youth football. We have seen people on the sidelines react in ways which one would never normally expect. This is a man of previous good character with a blade in a leisure centre, which he then used in the course of a physical confrontation." Judge Swinnerton went on to add: "It should never have escalated this far. It concerned a youth football league. What on Earth was he doing with that blade in his hand?" Philip Astbury, defending, replied: "It is utterly baffling, frankly. I do not think either man was expecting to bump into the other on that particular evening. It was not taken with the express intention of using it. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "What happened, happened very quickly. It is a baffling case. One can fairly say that it is a complete aberration on his part with everything he does for the community, for young people who play football and have been fortunate enough to come across Mr Kelly in that capacity." Mr Astbury detailed how Kelly's older son suffers from "serious disabilities". He told the court: "In addition to football and volunteering, he has given up work to care for his son. The prospect of having to leave his son is, frankly, appalling. I cannot say that it is anyone else's fault but, on this few seconds of madness, he has had time to reflect. This has had a huge impact on him and his family. "The situation with Mr Kent had reached a point where his wife had been forced to make a complaint to the police. I hear what your honour says about grown men knowing better and football, but it had gone a little further than that." When the judge remarked that the sport can cause a "loss of all sense of reason and rationality". Mr Astbury added: "The irony is that he is not one of those dads. He is the dad who makes it all possible. He is the dad calming things down on the sidelines when people get heated. That is why this is such an aberration. That is his true character. He has absolutely learned his lesson as a consequence of all of this. Your honour is aware of the difficulty it would create for his older son. "His younger son is not in good health either. This is a moment of madness, not to be repeated on his behalf. This is a case where a suspended sentence could be justly imposed."When the judge remarked that the sport can cause a "loss of all sense of reason and rationality", Mr Astbury added: "The irony is that he is not one of those dads. He is the dad who makes it all possible. "He is the dad calming things down on the sidelines when people get heated. That is why this is such an aberration. That is his true character. He has absolutely learned his lesson as a consequence of all of this. Your honour is aware of the difficulty it would create for his older son. His younger son is not in good health either. This is a moment of madness, not to be repeated on his behalf. "This is a case where a suspended sentence could be justly imposed." Kelly, who the ECHO has been told was then the serving chairman of the Merseyside Youth Football League, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place on the day he was due to stand trial. He wore a black suit over a white shirt and grey tie, shaking his head and puffed out his cheeks as he was jailed for 10 months and handed a five-year restraining order. Sentencing, Judge Swinnerton said: "I have read references from friends, neighbours and family about the good things that you have done, both for your own family but also more widely in the community. "It is a genuine tragedy and genuinely sad to see you standing in the dock facing sentence for serious offences. The court has to deal with many knife crimes. It has an impact on the entire country. There is far too much of it. Much of it concerns youths. You are not a youth. You are 43. You are a family man of good character. It beggars belief really, what you were doing. "I suspect that you cannot really understand what you were doing yourself. Wherever or whenever you got it, that night, you had it in your clenched hand as you left the leisure centre. You can see young people walking in and out of that leisure centre, and you have got a blade in your hand, unbelievably. You went, at least, to a quiet area away from those children. "You and Mr Kent went to resolve a straightener, two grown men. But you took a blade. That, of course, makes the seriousness of this so much worse. You did not cause a very serious injury. It is relatively superficial. It was a highly dangerous weapon. I bear in mind that the purposes of sentencing include deterrent, as well as punishment and rehabilitation. "That is important with knife crime, because it is far too prevalent and needs to be deterred. That sentence has to be immediate. The message has to got out that you simply cannot take a blade out to resolve an argument, whether you are a child or an adult. People really need to learn that you cannot take a blade out and use a blade on people without going into custody."
