Former boyfriend of murder victim jailed for drug dealing
The former boyfriend of murder victim Ashley Dale has been sentenced for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Lee Harrison, 27, of Liverpool Road, Huyton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin and possession with intent to supply cocaine on 23 December 2024 at Liverpool Crown Court.
Harrison was the boyfriend of 28-year-old Ashley Dale, when she was killed by a gunman who forced his way into her home in Liverpool on August 21 2022. Lee was the intended target following a drugs feud with rivals.
Lee Harrison and Terence Rice, 36, of Bearwood Road, Tower Hill, Kirkby, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in December, were sentenced today (21 February 2025) at Liverpool Crown Court.
Harrison was jailed for 5 years and Rice for 5 years and 2 months for the supply of crack cocaine and heroin in Merseyside, North Wales and Lancashire between 1 October and 25 November 2024.
They supplied crack cocaine and heroin through a drugs supply telephone line called the ‘kyle line’. This was the same name of drugs line that led to the dispute between him and his girlfriend’s killers back in 2022.
However, the line in 2024 was not the same one as in 2022, the number and customers were different.
Senior Crown Prosecutor James Allison of CPS Mersey-Cheshire Complex Casework Unit, said: “Lee Harrison is a career drug dealer and has now been sentenced along with Terence Rice for supplying Crack Cocaine and Heroin directly to drug users."
Mr Allison added: "Harrison was the boyfriend of Ashley Dale who was murdered in her own home in Liverpool in August 2022.
"Evidence in the trial for the murder of Ashley showed that Lee was the intended target because of a long-standing feud about the supply of class A drugs.
"There was evidence Harrison was involved in the supply of class A drugs and had links to organised crime, the Hillsiders organised crime gang.
"After the murder of Ashley, Lee Harrison did not assist the police investigation to find her killers in any way and he left the UK.
"Even though Lee Harrison had no money in his bank account nor assets, he travelled in and out of the UK from Dubai, Spain and Thailand.
“Thanks to the ongoing work of the Crown Prosecution Service with Merseyside Police, Harrison is now jailed for his criminal behaviour.
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Ashley Dale. We hope this conviction helps them in some way."