When friendships turn sour and there’s no honor among thieves

Many people will have heard the famous expression “honor among thieves.”

The concept that even criminals have a code of conduct among themselves is said to date back to ancient Rome.

In southern Italy, this became the “Omerta” of the mafia, a code of silence in the face of police questioning.

Today, here in Merseyside, this refusal to cooperate with authorities is often referred to as a “no grazing” culture.

But there is also a direct alternative to the old proverb, which holds that in fact “there is no honor among thieves.”

And when it comes to showing just how true that can be, there are no better examples than some of the criminals whose friendships turned sour once they met on the Liverpool Crown Court dock.

Here are the so-called friends who proved they were only out of themselves when faced with prison.

The moment the ‘code of silence’ was broken

The murder of the “totally innocent” teenager Lewis Dunne on November 15, 2015 shocked Liverpool.

The 16-year-old was walking along a towpath along the Liverpool-Leeds canal in Eldonian Village when he was killed by a single shotgun blast fired by one of the four men lurking under the Eldonian / Vauxhall Bridge.

In November 2016, Jake Culshaw, 26, John Martin, 20, and John’s brother Paul Martin, 26, were jailed for at least 88 years between them after a jury found them guilty of murder.

Prosecutors suggested that this cold-blooded execution could have been the result of a case of mistaken identity, as Lewis’s killers mistook his signature curly blonde hair for that of a rival gang member who had attacked them earlier that night. .

Initially, a massive Merseyside Police operation fought to overcome the “wall of silence” that protected the murderers of Lewis’ drug trafficking.

But that changed thanks to the bravery of drug addict and Culshaw’s ‘client’ Helena Albiston of Birkenhead.

In truly remarkable testimony, Ms. Albiston told the jury that Culshaw had been in her apartment the day after the murder, where she used to call to use the shower.

She said, “He just didn’t look like himself, but the few days I’d seen him that week he’d been on the phone with a girl, and I thought he was because he had been arguing with this girl.” ..

“I said ‘don’t worry, there are many more fish in the sea, you are a lovely boy and soon you will have another girl.’ He said, ‘You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I’ve done.’

Ms. Albiston said that an ITV Granada news report about the shooting appeared on her television, showing police divers searching the channel.

She told the jury: “When the news came, he was crying, he had tears, he said ‘my life is over, my life is over.’

Mrs. Albiston, who wept in court, continued: “Then it happened that (Lewis) had been shot in the back, and I didn’t want to believe it. I had always known (Culshaw) as a good boy, I had never seen him wear aggressive or losing his temper … he has always been very docile and quiet. “

Prosecutor Ian Unsworth, QC, asked what words Culshaw used.

Ms. Albiston said, “That was me, I did that, and my life was over. And he was crying, they were tears, but for himself …

“He said I swear to God you won’t tell anyone. And then he said something about the gun being further down the channel.”

The actual location of the weapon was eventually leaked to the police and specialist divers recovered the broken murder weapon.

Detectives were able to increase the pressure on Culshaw, who broke up.

He then implicated John and Paul Martin, claiming that John was the trigger, thwarting the brothers’ attempts to get out of justice.

John Martin was ordered to serve a minimum of 28 years behind bars, while Paul Martin and Jake Culshaw received a minimum of 30 years.

The ruthless thieves who kept quiet until a trial loomed

Two vicious criminals who tried to rob a retiree turned on each other as a trial loomed.

Peter O’Shaughnessy, 38, thought that a 68-year-old man in a Mercedes Coupe would be an easy target.

He recruited Robert Gregory, also 38, as his driver, and recruited him to help try to steal the victim’s car.

Gregory drove after the OAP, following him to his home in Widnes, where O’Shaughnessy came out armed with a hammer.

He demanded the man’s car keys, but the victim fought back and managed to disarm the thug, who ran off with his tail between his legs and a bulge on his head.

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The brave pensioner recalled key details about Gregory’s Ford Kuga, including the damage to the vehicle, allowing police to identify him on CCTV footage.

That led detectives to Gregory’s home in Halewood, where they found the car the next day with a hammer in the trunk, bearing O’Shaughnessy’s DNA.

But O’Shaughnessy wasn’t arrested until six months later, at which point neither the victim nor a neighbor could identify him at an identity parade.

O’Shaughnessy later claimed that he spent the night of the November 15, 2018 incident at home with his girlfriend.

Despite text messages and cell site data revealing the couple’s cold plans and the route they took during their failed foray, both O’Shaughnessy and Gregory decided to deny the attempted robbery and try their luck with a jury.

However, just days before the trial began, Gregory suddenly blamed his co-defendant, in a desperate attempt to save his own hide.

Oliver King, the prosecutor, said that “unexpectedly” Gregory chose to deliver a defense statement, in which he admitted to being the driver and taking O’Shaughnessy to the victim’s home.

But the driver also claimed that he thought O’Shaughnessy wanted to speak to OAP about a debt and had no idea that his friend would come out with a hammer and try to rob him.

Mr. King said: “That appears to have had a ripple effect with respect to the allegations of both defendants.”

When O’Shaughnessy learned that his accomplice had stabbed him in the back, he decided to do the same.

Realizing the game was over, he admitted to attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon, but took another step forward.

Mr. King said: “He indicated that he was willing to provide a statement against his co-defendant Robert Gregory.

“That statement was taken by a police officer in court. After careful consideration of that statement, the Crown made the decision not to rely on it.

“However, Robert Gregory later that day also changed his request to count one [attempted robbery]. “

O’Shaughnessy, formerly of Welland Close, Halewood, had 28 prior convictions for 63 crimes, including a knife point robbery and a violent assault. He was jailed for four years and 10 months.

Lawyers for Gregory, of Blakeacre Road, Halewood, who had no prior convictions and worked at Jaguar Landrover, said he cared for their son, while his wife was a key worker.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended 18 months.

He gasps when ‘Iceman’s’ killer associate ‘grabs’ Hitman

In one of the highest-profile gang trials of this century, cold-blooded killer Mark Fellows was accused of carrying out the murders of prominent underworld figures Paul Massey and John Kinsella.

Kinsella, 53, was shot and killed in an execution style while walking his dogs with his pregnant partner Wendy Owen near their home in Rainhill on May 5, 2018.

Three years earlier, his close friend Paul Massey, 55, also known as ‘Mr Big’ from Salford, was killed when Fellows doused him with machine gun fire outside of his property.

While the evidence was strong against the man nicknamed “The Iceman” by his associates, he had nowhere to turn when his accomplice Steven Boyle, accused of being the observer in both murders, “mocked” the killer.

Fellows decided not to give any evidence, but on December 18, 2018, Boyle told a jury at Liverpool Crown Court that he was “tricked” by his friend into unknowingly taking part in Kinsella’s murder.

The atmosphere at court was electrifying.

Family and friends of the two victims sat in their seats, while reporters looked at Fellows, trying to gauge any reaction.

There were gasps from the public gallery when he said he thought he was going to Rainhill to collect drug money, but he was handed a backpack containing a gun.

Boyle claimed that Fellows had asked him to meet at a siding on Warrington Road, and “tossed” the bag out of Boyle’s open window without saying anything.

He told the jury, “I couldn’t believe they threw that at me.”

He said it was “terrible” to have to explain about the Kinsella case, and agreed that there can be “consequences” regardless of the outcome of the trial.

Boyle’s attorney, Peter Wright, QC, asked him, “Have you ever been a weed in your long criminal career?” Boyle replied, “No.”

Sitting on the dock, Fellows later grabbed a pen he had been using to take notes, looked at his co-defendant, and slowly passed it down his throat.

It is unclear if the jury saw Fellows’ disturbing response, but it was the culmination of a gripping session that dramatically altered the course of the trial.

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The fellows ended up receiving a rare fee for life, which means they will never be eligible for parole and will die in prison.

Despite his efforts to save his own skin, Boyle was found guilty of the murder of Kinsella on a joint venture basis and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum prison term of 33 years.