A 16-year-old boy led a crowd of teenage thugs in three shootings and a horrific arson.
Harry O’Brien controlled a graft line and a crew of cannabis dealers on the streets of Dingle. But his “lucrative” trade was revealed after the “enmity” led to three shootings in three weeks in South Liverpool.
In one attack, bullets were fired from an Audi at a BMW as the two cars raced side by side through the city at night. A homeless bullet flew through the front door of the home of a “completely innocent” family and fell down the stairs in the hallway.
READ MORE:The man asked if I was dying while bleeding to death outside the family home
A gunman on an electric bicycle hit the family living room with bullets and shot another victim’s bedroom. Eventually, O’Brien had spilled gasoline through the mailbox of her mother’s home and caught fire as she and her children ran to save their lives.
O’Brien is still only 17 years old. But today, ECHO convinced one of Liverpool’s top judges that it was in the public interest to lift the restrictions on reporting in his case so that we could uncover the brutality he brought to the city’s streets between December 2020 and June 2021. .
The Royal Court of Liverpool heard the attacks on members and collaborators of two families, Franchetti and Rosario. Judge Neil Fluit, QC, said there was no doubt that they were “a manifestation of enmity” between O’Brien’s gang and “others” with “who had a real or suspected complaint, the nature of which has not been revealed.” He said: “Unfortunately, the lives of completely innocent people, including young children, have been put at risk by the insensitive and cowardly actions of everyone involved.
O’Brien planned and participated in all three shootings, “organized the arson,” and the cannabis plot was “his business.” David Temkin, QC, prosecutor, said: “Harry O’Brien was at the heart of the crime in this case.”
Michael McClean, then 16, and Aaron Donohaw, then 19, were his “lieutenants” who were given “managerial responsibility” for the drug trade. “Trusted” Daniel Lawler, 19, joined O’Brien in two of the shootings, all involving the same semi-automatic Glock pistol – never found by police.
The first shooting took place late on December 29, 2020, after unknown passengers in a silver BMW X5, circling Dingle in search of O’Brien and his gang, deliberately “crashed” into another BMW. He quarreled with O’Brien’s mother, Christine McPartland, with her son McClean, Donohaw, and an unknown fourth man on board.
She called police at 10:30 p.m. to report the Beresford Road crash. Her son and his gang fled, as Donohou called Lawler, who had previously helped acquire a stolen Audi with fake license plates. Mr Temkin said: “What happened next was revenge.”
Aaron Donohaw (left) and Michael McClean (right)
Already armed with a loaded pistol, O’Brien, McClean, Donohaw, and the fourth man set off in the auditorium, with the banned driver McClean at the wheel. Three shots were fired at the BMW in Dingle Lane, one of which pierced the front door of a “shocked” couple and the home of their seven-year-old child.
Mr Temkin said: “They were in bed. They heard the squeak of car tires and found a bullet on the stairs in the hallway.
QC said the testimony given by Lawler during the trial revealed that O’Brien was in “some kind of dispute” with the “Franchetti and Rosario family.” For the next three weeks, while staying at the Staybridge Suites in Kiel Wharf, O’Brien arranged for the purchase of a Sur-Ron electric bicycle.
O’Brien and Lawler set off on a motorcycle – one armed with a pistol – on January 8, 2021. Shortly after 8:45 p.m., Donna Rosario called police to report that they had been shot at her home on Sandridge Street.
Mr Temkin said: “She, her partner Ian Franketti and their daughter were at home in the living room at the time.” Three bullets were found in the wall and ceiling of the living room.
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Jan. 20, O’Brien and Lawler, on the same motorcycle, headed for the Heffi family on Bellow Street. They were shooting at a bedroom upstairs.
Mr Temkin said: “This is where 24-year-old Joel Heffi slept. Joel Heffi and Ian Franchetti Jr. were collaborators.”
The gang then headed to Claire Bowness’s house in Dingle Lane, home with her three teenage children. Mr Temkin said: “It’s special that they were all from the Rosario family. Ian Franchetti Sr. is the uncle of these children.”
QC said the arson was O’Brien’s “child” who sought the help of a 14-year-old Toxtet boy whose name could not be named for legal reasons. O’Brien also recruited Sian Kanu, then 19, to recruit Mohammed Mohammed, then 19, to carry out the attack.
Dingle Lane family home set on fire (Image: Liverpool Echo)
The boy filled a can of gasoline in Shell’s garage on Aigburth Road on February 1. Mohammed took him to Ms. Bownes’ home on February 5, shortly after 8 p.m.
Mr Temkin said: “The fire has spread to some parts of the property, moving from the corridor to the staircase and upstairs. Claire Bowness and Rosario’s children, with their dog, managed to escape from the back of the property. However, they all needed medical treatment for smoke inhalation. “
On February 12, police raided the home of O’Brien’s grandparents, who lived next door to him on Buckland Street, Aigbert. They found £ 13,590 in cash in a plastic bag in the attic. One note had their grandson’s fingerprint.
O’Brien was also seen with bundles of money at the Adagio Hotel and the Elif Restaurant in downtown Liverpool on April 26. He was arrested at his aunt’s home on Aigburth Road on July 1, where police found about £ 5,000 of cannabis plus cash, cell phones, two knives and an ax.
Police also raided Lee Park, home of 28-year-old O’Brien’s Nathan Kelly gang, Belle Vale, on April 21. Police found a .22 revolver loaded with eight bullets in an abandoned aquarium on his balcony.
Daniel Lawler (left) and Sian Canoe (right)
They also found a bag containing 36 Remington .22 cartridges suitable for the pistol and nine other bullets. In the municipal gardens outside, police found a New Army 1892 Colt .41 revolver wrapped in a black garbage bag and covered in dirt.
After a series of arrests, the individuals allegedly involved in the shooting and arson were charged with conspiracy to possess firearms and arson, both with intent to endanger life.
Prior to the trial, O’Brien admitted lesser crimes such as conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to incite fear of violence and conspiracy to arson, being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, which the Crown accepted. He had already admitted to plotting to supply cannabis.
Defense attorney Richard Pratt said O’Brien had “diagnosed with ADHD in the past” and was described as a “risk taker.” He added: “It is possible that these diseases, through no fault of his own, have contributed to this behavior.”
Police in front of a house on Sundridge Street, Dingle aimed at shooting
Judge Fluit imprisoned O’Brien for nine years and eight months with an extended three-year license. He must serve at least two-thirds of that sentence behind bars before he can apply for parole.
21-year-old Lawler of Halewood Road, Woolton, was found guilty of conspiracy with a firearm and pleaded unrelated to charges of dangerous driving and handling stolen goods. He was detained for eight years with a two-year extended license. He must also serve at least two-thirds of this term.
McClean, 18, of Upper Warwick Street, Toxteth, has admitted to conspiring with cannabis and firearms. In the trial, he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of ammunition. He was imprisoned for eight and a half years.
20-year-old Donohou from Bewey Close, Toxteth, admitted to conspiracies about cannabis and firearms, based on the fact that he only participated in the first shooting. He was imprisoned for six years and four months.
Jurors could not reach a verdict against 20-year-old Canoe from Amity Street Toxteth for the arson plot. He later admitted to participating in the criminal activities of an organized crime group. He was imprisoned for two years and three months.
Also at trial, an unnamed boy, now 15, admitted to the arson plot. He received a two-year rehabilitation order for young people, with a six-month home curfew, between 8pm and 7am every day.
Mohammed, 20, of Kingsley Road, Toxteth, and Kelly, 28, of Lee Park Avenue, will be sentenced later.
Read more related articles Read more related articles
Add Comment