Three jailed for life for murder caught on doorbell camera
Three men have been jailed for life after an an innocent grandfather was shot through his living room window in a murder which was caught on a doorbell camera.
Children were playing in Elm Street, Stanley, County Durham, when popular Barry Dawson, 60, was fatally shot at teatime on Saturday April 5 this year. Ringleader Sean Reay, 30, and associates Kelvin Lawson, 38, and Thomas Sterling, 22, were convicted following a trial at Teesside Crown Court which concluded in October. Mr Justice Cotter sentenced gunman Reay, of Sabin Terrace, Stanley, to life with a minimum term of 32 years. Lawson, of Frosterley Gardens, Stanley, who smashed the downstairs window of the terraced house to allow his co-accused to get a clearer shot, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years. Sterling, of The Avenue, Stanley, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years. He was part of a “show of strength” in the street that day, the judge said. The single shot hit Mr Dawson in the chest, puncturing his heart, lung and liver. He had lived in the street for more than 20 years and was a well-liked member of his community. The shocking doorbell footage caught the shooting and then Mr Dawson’s son, Shane, shouting: “They shot my dad.” Mr Justice Cotter said: “This was an extraordinary crime in an ordinary residential street. “It was the sort of thing most people only see in television or films, and then not in this country.” In a victim impact statement, Mr Dawson’s partner Sarah Hopwood said the man people knew as Buck was an “adored father and grandfather”. She said: “This horrendous crime has broken our hearts and it is something we will never recover from.” The court heard Reay was out for revenge following an altercation outside his home earlier that day which was suspected to be drug-related, and in which he claimed a man threatened to burn his house down. Reay’s gang believed the person responsible was in Mr Dawson’s home and they hoped to lure him out by smashing windows. Mr Dawson, who had been resting upstairs, and who had nothing to do with the earlier trouble outside Reay’s home, came downstairs to see what was happening. Mr Justice Cotter said Reay was in charge while Lawson and Sterling were “key lieutenants”. The judge said the three men lived by a code which saw the police as the enemy. “You can reflect on where your code has got you during your decades in prison,” he said. “Until you reject the code, you will not be safe to rejoin society.” Reay recruited Kevin Dorward, 38, to drive them to the shooting and his cousin Keith Dorward, 48, came along as well. They were cleared of murder but admitted perverting the course of justice by trying to burn out the getaway car. Kevin Dorward’s partner Michaela Hetherington also admitted perverting the course of justice by falsely claiming to police that the car had been stolen. The judge jailed Kevin Dorward for 20 months, Keith Dorward for 16 months, who were living in Annfield Plain at the time, and Hetherington for 15 months, meaning she will be released immediately having served 246 days on remand already. Detective Chief Inspector Neil Fuller, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Hamnett at Durham Constabulary, said: “I hope this investigation sends out a clear message to criminals that we will not allow such extreme violence on our streets. “There is no place for guns on our streets, and we take a zero-tolerance approach in tackling and bringing to justice those who choose to carry such weapons. “Barry Dawson needlessly lost his life that afternoon because of the despicable actions of these three men. My thoughts remain with those who loved him.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub