Essex man serving 12 years handed further time for violent attack
Watson was on bail for drug supply offences at the time of the attack.
A drug dealer who shot a man on Valentine’s Day 2024 has been jailed for five years for a violent assault – after police secured a 12-year sentence against him for drug dealing in September last year.
At about 12.40am on 14 February 2024, the victim in this case was left seriously injured in St Osyth Road, Clacton, after an altercation with another man in the street.
He was left with injuries to his face and leg and was taken to hospital for urgent medical treatment shortly after.
Officers launched an investigation and quickly identified a silver Audi seen driving erratically at the scene at the time of the attack, and traced its movement backwards to a vehicle hire company in North London.
Further CCTV enquiries led us to believe the two suspects for the incident were 32-year-old Anthony Watson and 45-year-old Leklan Cabey.
Watson was already on bail for drug supply offences at the time of the attack.
Following a search of the scene in Clacton, a bullet casing was located which was linked to the incident, confirming a firearm was used in the attack.
Watson and Cabey were arrested by officers on 1 March and upon searching the vehicle that Cabey was driving at the time of the arrest, a large quantity of Class B drugs were found.
During the detailed investigation, investigating officers discovered messages from Watson referring to his part in the assault.
Both were remanded in custody.
Watson had initially denied the charges against him, but later pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life on 19 March.
Watson, currently in prison and previously of Walton-on-the-Naze, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday 8 May. He received a five-year custodial sentence, which will run consecutively to the existing 12-year sentence for drug supply offences.
'Nowhere to hide'
Detective Inspector Frazer Low, the senior investigating officer in the case, said:
“Watson's latest five-year sentence is a part of a picture of wider criminality he is already facing the consequences of in prison thanks to our previous investigation.
“Painstaking work by my officers showed exactly where Watson was before, during and after the attack.
“We reviewed numerous hours of CCTV footage and hundreds of pages of phone records, all of which pointed to his guilt. He had nowhere to hide.
“Watson travelled across Essex to carry out this attack with a firearm. Not only was the attack violent, his actions were calculated and incredibly reckless. It appears as though he went with the intention of shooting the victim, and had no concern for anyone other than himself.
“He is a dangerous individual we have already put behind bars for 12 years for dealing Class A and Class B drugs in our county, and this latest sentence just shows the seriousness of his criminality.”