Mark Fellows jailed following Salford gang war trial

Mark Fellows was sentenced this morning, Friday, following the culmination of a six-week trial at Manchester Crown Court over gangland warfare in Salford.

The 40-year-old, originally from Sandy Lane West in Orford, was involved in the monitoring of a vehicle tracker which saw two rival gang members attacked with a machete and a baseball bat.

Fellows is already serving time in HMP Wakefield after being convicted of the murder of gangland boss Paul Massey in July 2015, when he was gunned down outside his home.

Nicknamed ‘Iceman’, the hitman also assassinated ‘mob fixer’ John Kinsella as he walked his dogs near junction seven of the M62 in May 2018.

The scene of the first 'incident'

Fellows was given a whole life sentence for the murders, meaning he will never be released, with this latest sentencing adding to his list of violent convictions.

The trial relates to a number of incidents in 2015 as a result of a dispute between two Salford organised crime groups, who called themselves the ‘A Team’ and ‘Anti-A Team’.

The incidents were all investigated as part of Operation Leopard, led by detectives from Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.

Today’s sentencing of Fellows and his fellow Salford organised crime group member Aaron Parkin is the culmination of Operation Leopard: Phase Three.

Under phases One and Two, 11 members of organised crime groups were jailed in connection with linked incidents, including the murders of Massey and Kinsella and the shootings of seven-year-old Christian Hickey Junior and his mother Jayne.

The first incident investigated as part of Operation Leopard: Phase Three happened on February 18, 2015, on Doveleys Road in Salford.

Three men were in a parked car when three shots were fired - at point blank range - into the driver's door. Police later found a hidden tracker on the Mercedes.

The second happened on March 21, 2015, on Brattice Drive in Pendlebury. Two other men were near one of their cars when they were attacked with a machete and a baseball bat.

One of them was seriously injured and could have been killed had it not been for the actions of an off-duty nurse who administered first aid. Police later found a hidden tracker on the Volkswagen.

During the trial, the jury was told how both incidents were planned ambushes of members of the A Team by members of the Anti-A Team.

Key to the investigations were the forensic examinations of the trackers found on the vehicles. The DNA of Parkin, 32 and of HMP Manchester, was found on one of the devices.

Telephone analysis also linked Parkin to the purchase, deployment and monitoring of both devices.

CCTV from Parkin's home showed Fellows was there when a tracker was monitored in the lead up to one of the incidents.

Following a six-week trial, a jury found Fellows guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in connection with the second incident.

Parkin previously pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in connection with both incidents.

Fellows had been acquitted earlier of conspiring to murder and conspiracy to commit GBH in relation to the first incident. He was also cleared of conspiring to murder in relation to the second incident.

Judge Sir Peter Openshaw sentenced Fellows to life with a minimum term of nine years and Parkin to 14 years.

READ> Teen tried to rob keys but only got away with a fiver

DCI Carl Jones, senior investigating officer for Operation Leopard, said: “The men were from both sides of the dispute but had something in common - violent, dangerous behaviour and disregard for the safety of the public as well as the law.

“I hope that this case has demonstrated that no one is untouchable – even organised criminals, who naively believe they are.”