Gang behind bars over revenge shooting in Newcastle
A feud led to a teenager being shot in the leg
Three members of the same family are today behind bars after being convicted of a revenge shooting in a feud with a rival gang.
Kerry, Charlotte and Thomas Tams have been jailed for more than 15 years after a teenager was shot in the leg during the summer of 2019.
They were sentenced yesterday (Friday) alongside associates Barry Lynn and Leon Haq who were each jailed for ten years for the violent attack in Elswick.
A court was told how the shooting sparked a Northumbria Police investigation into the family’s violent feud with Kenneth Thompson.
In the early hours of August 7, 2019, they were informed a 19-year-old relative of Thompson had been admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg.
Their enquiries quickly uncovered a second shooting had taken place just hours before the teenager was injured where a car belonging to the Tams family had been damaged by a gunshot.
The incidents were quickly linked and in the days that followed 12 people were arrested and a Luger-style gun was recovered from the River Tyne.
Thompson later admitted that he had used that weapon in a drive-by shooting of the car. He was charged by police and in April last year he was jailed for six years.
Extensive enquiries established he had been involved in a simmering feud with Leon Haq before the latter recruited the Tams family to help his cause.
A court was told that after Thompson’s attack on the car, Haq and Barry Lynne had gathered at the home of Thomas Tams to plot their revenge.
The gang organised for Kerry Tams to drive Lynn and Haq to Bentinck Street to carry out a shooting. It is not known whether the teenager or Thompson was the intended victim.
CCTV enquiries and analysis of telephone data eventually led to the arrest of those involved in the conspiracy and they were charged to appear in court.
The gang were convicted of the conspiracy at the end of last year and now Northumbria Police have welcomed the lengthy custodial sentences handed down by the judge at Newcastle Crown Court.
Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Ed Small, said: “The streets of Newcastle are no place for a gun fight and those involved in this incident deserve the lengthy prison sentences handed to them today.
“It is through sheer luck that nobody has been killed because whenever a person pulls a trigger that is a very real possibility.
“I cannot begin to explain how hard our detectives have worked to piece together what happened on the evening of these shootings so we can put those responsible before the courts.
“Gun crime in our region is thankfully very rare but when it does happen this case shows those involved will be held accountable and put behind bars.”
Kerry Tams, 26, of Hawthorn Walk, Elswick, Thomas Tams, 60, of Bishop’s Road, Benwell, Charlotte Tams, 20, of Silvermere Drive, Ryton, all denied conspiracy to possess a Firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
They were all convicted by a jury following a trial and Kerry was jailed for six years, Thomas for six-and-a-half years and Charlotte was handed a three year sentence.
Leon Haq, 39, and Barry Lynn, 40, initially denied conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and a section 20 assault before changing their pleas to guilty during their trial.
Haq, of Newbold Street, Byker, also admitted two counts of making threats to kill and was jailed for ten years. Lynn, of Colby Court, Benwell, was jailed for 10 years.
Thompson, of Bentinck Street, Elswick, was jailed for six years last April after he admitted possession of a loaded firearm in a public place and criminal damage.
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