Gang found guilty of murdering Keiran McGrath
The gang who orchestrated the murder of Kieran McGrath has been convicted. Following a re-trial Remi Adams of Dartmouth Road, Whitefield, was found guilty of murder today at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Court. He will be sentenced tomorrow.
Anthony Joseph Henry of 15 Kenwyn Street ,Miles Platting, Troy Beckford of Lowerfields Gardens, Golbourne, Jace Smith of Charlestown Road, Manchester, were all found guilty of murder at a previous hearing.
Bretony Gallimore of Stanhorne Avenue, Crumpsall, was also previously convicted of assisting an offender. Over the course of both trials the court heard Kieran and Anthony Henry had engaged in a bitter feud lasting more than two years and which was marked throughout by threats and violence.
The feud came to a head with the fatal shooting of Kieran, 26, on Saturday 4 October 2014 , after Henry had conspired with Beckford to murder him, bringing in Smith and Adams to carry out the fatal shooting. In April 2014, a man walked into a surveillance shop in Stockport and bought four covert tracking devices which would eventually be used in the murder. One was placed onto Kieran’s car so Henry and his co-conspirators could trace his movements but these were foiled after a mechanic spotted them during an inspection.
During the case, Kieran’s mother, Marie, told the court that she had overheard a phone conversation between Kieran and Henry in the middle of September 2014 where Kieran said: “What are you putting a tracker on my car for? You’ve got my phone number, just call me and I’ll tell you where I am and we’ll have it out.”
Another tracker was installed on an Audi S3 by Beckford in the early hours of Tuesday 23 September 2014, following the purchase of two phones by Henry and Beckford which were used to plan the murder.
This was the tracker which would eventually lead Smith and Adams to the Sheldon Arms pub on the night Kieran died and from the 23 September 2014 Henry used his iPad to check the location and the travel history of this tracking device on a daily basis.
On Friday 3 October 2014, the day before the shooting, the plotters carried out a practice run which involved two men on a red motorcycle driving past Kieran’s close friend’s house a total of six times.
Throughout the day Henry, Smith, Beckford and Adams were in constant communication and Kieran’s movements were being closely monitored.
On Saturday 4 October 2014, Beckford purchased two handsets which would be used exclusively for the relaying of Kieran’s location between Beckford, Henry, Adams and Smith. That evening Kieran met friends at the Sheldon Arms Pub at around 9pm. At 9.53pm, Smith and Adams drove the motorcycle into the carpark of the Travelodge which is next to the Sheldon Arms and parked in a bay, with the pillion passenger getting off the bike and approaching the back wall of the Sheldon Arms. Ten minutes later, they drove round to the Sheldon Arms car park, placing themselves in position to strike when Kieran left the pub. At 10.20pm Kieran and a friend left the Sheldon Arms and were walking across the car park when the motorcycle stopped nearby and the passenger ran over and opened fire at Kieran and his car. By this time, Kieran was in the driver’s seat and one of the four shots travelled through the rear door of the vehicle and entered the top of Kieran’s back. Kieran drove immediately to Ashton Police Station where he collapsed as a result of his injuries. He was found by two off-duty officers who called paramedics who battled unsuccessfully to save his life. Meanwhile the gang had met at an address in Blackley where they were unaware that Kieran had suffered a fatal injury. During a phone call to a taxi company, Adams is recorded saying: “Yo Ant, listen, we’ll get him man” - a conversation which was a key piece of evidence.
When Henry and his gang were looking to hide from the police, Henry’s girlfriend Bretony Gallimore booked a hotel room in Ramsbottom specifically for the pair to hide out.
Detective Chief Inspector Terry Crompton said: “Anthony Henry is a man who had a simmering need for revenge but wasn’t brave enough to act himself.
“He saw the feud between himself and Kieran as damaging to both his pride and reputation, but when Kieran attempted on several occasions to sort it out, Henry either fled or refused to show.
“Henry was adamant that he wanted to end Kieran’s life, but he was not willing to carry out the attack himself and instead looked to distance himself by use of the trackers and the inclusion of others into the plot.
“As a result, this was an investigation of incredible complexity due to the sheer volume of telephone and tracking data that our officers had to sift through to achieve this successful conviction.
“In fact, I quite early on dubbed this the ‘digital investigation’, due to just how instrumental the data footprint left by Henry and his co-conspirators was in building the case against them.
“The successful conviction of this gang is a testament to the hard work, dedication and ingenuity of our detectives, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the McGrath family got justice for the murder of their son and brother.”