Four men jailed for drive-by shooting outside church

Four men responsible for a drive-by shooting outside a church, injuring members of a congregation attending a memorial service, have been jailed.

Tyrell Lacroix, 23, Jordan Walters, 24, Alrico Nelson-Martin, 20, and Jashy Perch, 20, were all found guilty of a conspiracy to wound members of the public, with the intention to cause serious harm, after a six-week trial at Kingston Crown Court earlier this year.

They were each sentenced for their part in the conspiracy today (12 April 2024) as follows:

• Tyrell Lacroix was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment, with an extended licence period of five years.
• Jordan Walters was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment.
• Alrico Nelson-Martin was sentenced to 14 years’ detention in a Young Offenders Institution.
• Jashy Perch was sentenced to 16 years’ detention in a Young Offenders Institution, with an extended licence period of four years.

Mourners at a memorial service for Fresia Calderon and Sara Sanchez, a mother and daughter who sadly died within the same month as each other in 2022, had gathered on the steps outside St. Aloysius Church in Somers Town to release doves of peace, when the shooting took place in January 2023.

A black Toyota CHR drove past the large congregation, and a man sitting in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle fired from a sawn-off shotgun into the crowd, entirely indiscriminately.

The Toyota quickly sped off, leaving at least five people injured, with a young child and a woman experiencing life-changing injuries. Members of the congregation were left in terror and ran from the scene in fear for their safety.

The CPS prosecuted Lacroix, Walters, Nelson-Martin and Perch following a thorough and fast-paced police investigation which revealed these four men together had carefully planned and agreed to hurt and maim members of the public outside the church on that day.

In executing their plan, they identified a car to use, obtained stolen registration plates, conducted reconnaissance of the area, sourced a firearm and ammunition, and then cleaned up the car having fled the scene afterwards.

Andrew Hudson, Acting Unit Head of the CPS London Complex Casework Unit, said: “Innocent members of the public, including children, were seriously injured and traumatised as a result of this revenge attack related to gangs in the local area.

“Painstaking analysis of CCTV and mobile phone evidence meant that we could piece together the defendants’ movements before and after the shooting, including how they each played their own part in the conspiracy.

“On a day when the community came together to celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones, their time to grieve was shattered by this shocking and senseless act of violence, which has undoubtedly had a devastating effect on the victims in this case, and indeed, the wider community.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victims and members of the community who were injured and traumatised by this violent attack.

“I hope that today’s sentence will provide a sense of justice to everyone involved.”