Teenage drug dealer handed life sentence for murder of rival in Liverpool

A teenage drug dealer has been handed a life sentence for the murder of a rival in Liverpool

19 year old Brandon Billsborough gunned down Mark Hillman in Lloyd Close in Everton on April 27th 2016

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Hillman, who was a heroin and crack dealer, was lured to a flat on the street and gunned down in cold blood.

Billsborough's friend Connor Hunt, 19, was cleared of murder but found guilty of wounding Hillman with intent - after slashing him with a knife earlier that day

He was sentenced to 8 years in a Young Offenders Institute.

Passing sentence the Judge Mr Justice Glob said “What occurred on April 27th arose out of a drug dealing power struggle between the two of you and Mark Hillman. I reject the evidence of both of you that there was no dispute.

“Your assertion of there being no dispute and being content with him dealing drugs to your own customers defies logic and common sense.”

Speaking to Billsborough, he said “You knew exactly what you were doing when you chose to make arrangements for Mark Hillman to be shot and what needed to be done afterwards to attempt to escape detection.”

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Shaw from Merseyside Police said:

"The convictions are as a result of a determined investigation to bring Mark’s killer to justice. Ultimately we know that nothing can bring Mark back, but we hope the verdicts and today's sentences gives his family some sense of justice.

"We are continually asking communities for information about drug dealing and carry out warrants and arrests day in day out, to tackle the issue"

"The death of Mark Hillman highlights why we do this, as well as the danger drugs bring to our communities."