Drugs and firearms dealer who was also involved in the shooting of a man by a school is jailed

A drugs and firearms dealer, who was involved in the shooting of another man within yards of children leaving a primary school, has been given a 29-year sentence. 

John Lewis, 23, of Parliament Street in the Toxteth area of Liverpool, was sentenced (28 September 2023) at Liverpool Crown Court for his involvement in the shooting and for dealing in drugs and firearms. As part of his criminal activity, Lewis was said to have a ‘shopping list’ of weapons, including a Skorpion machine gun, to be sold or transferred. 

He was sentenced to 24 years in prison and five years on licence for wounding with intent, possessing a firearm, conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs and selling or transferring firearms.

Another man, David Delap, 34, of Woodchurch Road in Birkenhead who assisted Lewis in his criminal enterprise was also sentenced to five years and six months in prison for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

The conspiracy between the two men was discovered when Delap was questioned at his home on 20 May 2020 and a so-called Encrochat phone was discovered in his house, with messages revealing the extent of their exploits, selling Class A drugs on a commercial scale across the country.  

The messages found on Delap’s phone led the police to Lewis, who was already under investigation for his involvement in the shooting of a man in broad daylight on Borough Road, on the Wirral on 26 November 2019. 

Lewis was also sentenced for his involvement in the shooting. 

Lewis was driving one of two motorbikes that pulled up by a Shell petrol station on Borough Road around 4pm. The other bike had a pillion passenger who got off and fired seven shots at a man in the front passenger seat of a car parked by the garage. Thankfully the victim survived.

Lewis and the others then fled the scene, with police later finding the abandoned motorbike and Lewis’s DNA on the handlebars. 
After a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Lewis was found guilty of wounding with intent, possessing a firearm, conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs and selling or transferring firearms on 28 September 2023. 

Senior Crown Prosecutor Leigh-Ann Wardman, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit said: “John Lewis is a dangerous and long-term criminal who is heavily involved in organised crime and the dark world of drugs and firearms. 

“Lewis and David Delap conspired together to distribute drugs on a commercial scale which helped fund further criminal activity of the buying and selling of lethal firearms, all as ways to satisfy their own greed.

“Lewis’s involvement in the shooting of a man within yards of children leaving their primary school shows his utter lack of regard for the safety of anyone and that he is a reckless and ruthless criminal. He has now been given a very substantial jail term. 

“The Crown Prosecution Service works with the police to tackle organised crime and bring those involved to justice, to help ensure our communities are a safe place to live."