Gangster jailed for Poplars Avenue pizza delivery shooting

The victim suffered life-changing injuries after being blasted in the leg by a gunman posing as a pizza delivery driver on Poplars Avenue in Orford.

Lewis Fitzpatrick, who arranged the attempted hit on associates of the notorious Cullen brothers, was today locked up for 26 years over the shocking attack.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that David Barnes answered a knock at the door of his home shortly after 8.45pm on April 24 2020 to find Aaron Bretherton stood outside holding pizza boxes.

But the 55-year-old had not ordered this Friday night takeaway and became suspicious as his stepson Liam Byrne Jnr – the intended target – had been warned by police days earlier that he was in danger of being attacked.

He immediately attempted to close the door again, but his assailant opened fire as he did so before fleeing.

Aaron Bretherton

One gunshot hit the floor, while another bullet travelled through the door and hit Mr Barnes in the lower right leg – shattering his tibia and fibula.

Byrne Jnr, who is believed to be an associate of the Cullens and was previously jailed for four years in 2016 after being convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin, was not home at the time of the incident.

READ MORE: Sentencing of gangland shooting fixer as it happened

Fitzpatrick, 27, helped to arrange the assault – acting as a go-between with those who ordered the hit and those who enacted the plan and attending a reconnaissance mission alongside serving solider Bretherton in the late afternoon of the same day.

Getaway driver Anthony Morris supplied the vehicle, a works van from the garage where he was employed, used to transport the trio between their native Liverpool and the crime scene.

Cheshire Police’s investigation into the incident, codenamed Operation Chairs, found messages between the conspirators sent over encrypted communications platform EncroChat which uncovered a second planned hit on Charlie Cullen – the dad of Leon and Anthony Cullen.

The twins were the heads of a large-scale gang which dealt in the supply of firearms and cocaine.

Leon Cullen – of Honister Avenue in Orford – was jailed for 22-and-a-half years in May last year, having been captured in the United Arab Emirates in January 2020 after nearly two years on the run.

Anthony Cullen, of Colemere Close in Padgate, was caged for 27 years in 2019 over the conspiracy.

Leon and Anthony Cullen

Hours after the Poplars Avenue shooting, another unidentified conspirator posing as a pizza man attended a property on Sinclair Avenue in Longford which their father owned but rented out to tenants.

The caller left after the occupant informed him that Mr Cullen did not live there.

Prosecuting, Phil Barnes described how the attack was 'part of a dispute over who controlled the supply of drugs in the Warrington area'.

Morris was arrested when his van was pulled over by police in Southport two days after the incident, while Bretherton and Fitzpatrick were detained at their respective homes in May 2020.

A Glock 19 9mm handgun was recovered from the extractor of the cooker in Bretherton’s apartment, while ammunition and a magazine were found in the fan in the bathroom.

Gunpowder residue was also discovered on a Prada jacket and a backpack inside the flat, as was £5,000 of cash and a smoke grenade.

A further £4,000 was recovered from Fitzpatrick’s address.

Meanwhile brothers John and Alan Tobin, of Liverpool and Widnes respectively, helped to plot the shooting by supplying the home addresses of the targets.

Alan and John Tobin

Bretherton, Morris and the Tobins were jailed for nearly half a century in September over the incident – with the gunman personally receiving 22 years.

After a linked investigation – Operation Thunderball – mobile phone evidence revealed that Fitzpatrick was involved in the transfer of firearms, as well as 'brokering deals between buyers and sellers' in the supply of class B drugs ketamine and cannabis 

Defence barrister Gary Bell told the court: "Longer than the time he's been alive is staring Mr Fitzpatrick in the face.

"He had a period after 2016 where he had a job and met a partner and had three children. He got running with a gang - he wasn't in charge, he wasn't the person to execute the shooting in this case.

"But he was an important conduit and he played an important role in putting people together, and he knew exactly what he was doing.

"In the far distance, Mr Fitzpatrick can come out of prison and make something of himself other than the mess of his life he's made so far."

He was convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to supply firearms and ammunition and conspiracy to supply ketamine and cannabis.

Fitzpatrick was also handed an extended licence period of five years, and will serve at least two thirds of his term in custody.

Sentencing, judge Stuart Driver said: "There was significant planning, and you played a leading role in a group activity.

"The incident involved a very high level of violence, endangering life - planned and done for money.

"You knew your group had shot an innocent man, but you showed no remorse.

"On the contrary, you arranged the obtaining of another handgun.

"I'm sure there is a significant risk to the public of a serious of the commission by you of further offences."

Fitzpatrick and Bretherton were also handed five-year serious crime prevention orders today, which will begin upon their respective releases from prison.

The cash discovered in the former's home was seized by the court.

Detective chief inspector Ian Murray, of Cheshire Police’s serious and organised crime unit, said: “Fitzpatrick’s role in the conspiracy was to arrange the shooting.

“He acted as the middleman between those who were directly involved in committing the attack on the night and the person who is believed to have orchestrated it.

“We suspect Fitzpatrick was in connect with the orchestrator throughout the journey to Poplars Avenue.

“The shooting shocked the local community and left a man to undergo several operations, meaning he will never be able to walk the same again.

“Fitzpatrick is heavily associated with and involved in serious and organised crime, from organising the shooting to the supply of firearms and ammunitions as well as class B drugs for illegal profit.

“We know criminals travel into Cheshire for their involvement in serious and organised crime.

“Our message is that, regardless of where you are from, we will continue to pursue you until you fear travelling into a county where being caught will be the only outcome.”