Three Men Jailed For Combined Seventeen Years After Police Uncover Cache Of Loaded Firearms In Modified Car In Coventry
Forensic evidence & Snapchat messages exposed three West Midlands criminals following a police search that uncovered two shotguns, handguns & Class A drugs.
Three men have been sentenced to a combined total of nearly 17 years in prison following the recovery of a cache of loaded firearms concealed inside a modified vehicle parked in Coventry.
At Warwick Crown Court, 27-year-old Kai Williams, 23-year-old Junior Dube, and 18-year-old Tyreece Barnett-Leslie were jailed after police seized two shotguns, two handguns, and matching ammunition from a Vauxhall Corsa parked on Wappenbury Road.
Williams, of Wappenbury Road, Coventry, was sentenced to seven years and 11 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to possession of a handgun, possession of a sawn-off shotgun, and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
Dube, of Purcell Road, Coventry, received a sentence of five years and one month after admitting possession of a sawn-off shotgun and a handgun.
Barnett-Leslie, of Crediton Close, Coventry, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of a handgun, possession of criminal cash, and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
The court heard that officers searched the stationary vehicle on 11 November last year and discovered that the internal partition between the cab and the boot had been structurally altered with a access hole, allowing immediate access to the loaded weapons from the driver's seat.
Williams was arrested the following day at a nearby property, where officers recovered the ignition key to the Corsa from a bedroom drawer alongside Class A drugs, digital scales, and mobile phones used in drug supply.
Forensic analysis subsequently matched Williams’s DNA to two of the recovered firearms, while his fingerprints were identified on the bag used to store the weapons.
Subsequent forensic testing on the remaining firearms established DNA connections to Dube and Barnett-Leslie, leading to their subsequent arrests by armed officers.
A forensic examination of Barnett-Leslie’s mobile phone revealed direct messages sent via Snapchat from Dube containing photographs of the seized weaponry, including an image taken inside Dube’s residence that confirmed he had supplied the firearms.
During the execution of the arrest warrant at Barnett-Leslie's address, the defendant attempted to dispose of evidence by throwing a package of cocaine from a bedroom window immediately prior to his detention.
Detective Chief Inspector Amar Patel stated following the sentencing that the recovery represented a significant removal of deadly weapons intended to facilitate serious crime across the West Midlands.
