Teenager jailed for carrying a gun and shooting a man on a Liverpool Street

 A 17-year-old boy from Liverpool has been deemed “dangerous” by a judge and jailed for shooting another man and firearms offences.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Joel Harvey, of Croxteth, shot Michael Costello outside a convenience store in the area around 3am on 11 December 2021.
 
Harvey had spotted Mr Costello at the store shortly before. It’s thought Harvey had a grudge against Mr Costello and meant to “teach him a lesson”.
 
So, he went home, armed himself with a loaded and lethal self-loading automatic pistol and got another man, who was also armed, to take him back to the shop on the back of an e-bike.
 
Mr Costello was still there, and Harvey fired a total of 3 shots at him, leaving him with serious injuries to both of his legs.
 
Harvey was arrested on 27 January 2022 and interviewed in connection with this incident and released on bail as investigations continued.
 
On 16 January 2022, he was also arrested and questioned as his DNA was discovered on cartridges used in an incident where another man was shot in the Old Swan area of Liverpool.
 
Despite all of this, on the afternoon of 18 June 2022, Harvey collected the same firearm with which he’d shot Mr Costello and headed towards an address in Croxteth, wearing a balaclava.
 
The gun was loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition and its thought he was, again, looking to settle another score with potentially fatal consequences.
 
Luckily, Merseyside Police stormed the address while Harvey was there and found him, three hours later, hiding in the roof space of the house.
 
He was arrested and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life and one count of possession of ammunition without a firearms certificate.
 
He denied all counts. He was found guilty after trial at Liverpool Crown Court on 15 December 2022.
 
On 25 January 2023 at Liverpool Crown Court, he was given a 15-year sentence. He must serve 12 and a half years in prison and a further two and a half years on licence. Judge Clement Goldstone also deemed Harvey to be “dangerous”.
 
Sentencing Harvey, Judge Goldstone said: “The facts of this case would make staggering reading if you were an adult, but it defies belief, even in these times of unparalleled street violence, that someone who was only 16 years old when these offences were committed should be so steeped in gangland culture and be prepared to engage in open warfare on the streets of this great city without any concern or regard for the safety of its citizens.”
 
Senior Crown Prosecutor, Nicola Wyn Williams, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “Joel Harvey is a dangerous criminal who is willing to carry a loaded gun through the streets to carry out some sort of revenge on people he considers himself to have a grudge against.
 
“He behaved in this way on two separate occasions, the second time while he was already under investigation for similar offences.  It’s clear that Joel Harvey considers himself to be above the law and, despite his age, has no concern for the lives or safety of others.
 
“He has been deemed dangerous and been given a long sentence. This has been a difficult case for the Crown Prosecution Service, and we would like to thank Merseyside Police for their help in bringing this youth, who is still a child in law, to justice.”