LAZY BRITISH POLICE LEAD TO DEATH

A teenage gunman was convicted yesterday of having murdered a young father at the end of a long campaign of violence and intimidation. Bradley Tucker, 18, who shot Peter Woodhams, 22, with a blank-firing pistol converted to fire live ammunition, was found guilty at the Old Bailey. Mr Woodhams, a satellite television engineer, fell dying in front of his fiancee, Jane Bowden, and their three-year-old son Sam after being shot outside the family home in Custom House, East London, last August.

Seven months earlier he had been stabbed in the neck, the blow narrowly missing an artery, and slashed across the face. He had complained to police that he was scared for himself and his family and afraid to go out. Miss Bowden, 24, had phoned the police every day for five weeks after the stabbing but officers did not take a statement. Nine officers face an independent misconduct inquiry into allegations that they failed to investigate the assault.

Miss Bowden burst into tears yesterday as the jury returned its verdict and continued to cry as her victim impact statement was read to the court. Mr Woodhams had been taunted and tormented by a gang of youths since the stabbing in January 2006. In August he confronted the teen-agers outside a supermarket where they were standing around smoking cannabis.

Shortly afterwards a witness heard Tucker rant: “I will f****** have him. If he comes back, if he wants a row, I’ll f****** row with him.” Minutes later Tucker, a painter and decorator of no fixed address, arrived outside Mr Woodhams’s house and shot him repeatedly with a converted self-loading blank-firing pistol, which has never been found.

During the trial Miss Bowden told the jury that she and her son went outside when they heard the shots to see Mr Woodhams staggering towards the house before collapsing into stinging nettles.

On the eve of his trial, Tucker, of Canning Town, East London, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He later told the jury he only meant to scare Mr Woodhams and thought the gun would just go “bang”. He will be sentenced at a later hearing. A 17-year-old youth who was alleged to have acted as lookout for Tucker was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Stevenson said: “Peter had no opportunity to defend himself in the face of a man who had complete disregard for his life. My thoughts and those of my team remain with Peter’s family and many friends at this very difficult time who, regardless of this result, have lost a loved one and will have to live with this devastating consequence of gun crime.” He said the investigation into the knife attack on Mr Woodhams was continuing.

Report here


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