3 found guilty of murder, after man shot dead in County Durham home
Three men have been found guilty of murder after a man was shot dead in his own home.
Three men have been found guilty of murder after a man was shot dead in his own home.
Barry Dawson was killed when he was shot through the window of the house in Elm Street, South Moor, on the afternoon of April 5 this year.
Sean Reay, Kelvin Lawson, and Thomas Sterling all denied murder but following a four-week trial at Teesside Crown Court the jury unanimously found them guilty.
30-year-old Reay was seeking retribution after he had received threats to burn his house down earlier in the day.
The court heard Reay, Lawson and Sterling planned to shoot a man who had connections at an address in Elm Street later that day.
Footage from a CCTV camera in Elm Street captured Lawson, 38, smashing the front window of the property.
As a result, two occupants of the house came outside but were then chased back inside. In the meantime, Barry Dawson who had been in bed, had got up having heard the disturbance and gone into the living room.
Moments later, Lawson then smashed the window again before Reay fired the gun into the house.
Barry Dawson was not the intended target but suffered a single gunshot wound and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Before the incident, Reay was also seen threatening a resident in the street who had come out of their house after hearing a disturbance.
The group fled the scene, and a Seat Arona car, which was used to flee the scene was later found burnt out nearby in the Oxhill area.
Durham Constabulary immediately launched an investigation and a team of detectives from our major crime team worked around the clock, with support from armed response officers, specialist crime scene examiners, search teams, and neighbourhood officers.
Within eight days the men, including Reay who fled to Northern Ireland, had been charged.
At the start of the trial, Reay admitted possession of a firearm and Keith Dorward and Kevin Dorward admitted perverting the course of justice.
During the trial, Michaela Hetherington, 36, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
The charge for perverting the course of justice related to all three intending to dispose of the car used in the incident.
Kevin Dorward, 38 and Keith Dorward, 48, were also charged with murder but the jury unanimously found them not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
Senior Investigating Officer Temporary Detective Superintendent Neil Fuller, of Durham Constabulary, said: “These men set out that afternoon armed with a gun. They had a plan, they wanted revenge.
“Barry Dawson was an innocent man who should have been safe in his own home, but they killed him in broad daylight.
“They also had a complete disregard for the young children and other residents living in the street – who must have been terrified.
“There is no place for guns on the streets of County Durham and Darlington, and we take a zero-tolerance approach in tackling and bringing to justice those who choose to carry such weapons.
“I would like to thank my investigation team for their hard work and dedication which has made sure these men are now facing the consequences of their actions that day.
“My thoughts remain with those who truly cared about Barry.”
Reay, Lawson, Sterling, 22, Kevin Dorward, and Hetherington, all of Annfield Plain, and Keith Dorward, 48, of no fixed abode, will be sentenced on a date yet to be set.