Daniel Wallace
Edward Dooley
Kacey Adams
TWO men have been jailed for life and a third has been jailed for 16 years for a shooting in which the victim was left for dead.
The 54-year-old from Stanford-le-Hope survived the single shotgun blast but was left with serious injuries to his face and a lung, and lost the sight in one eye.
He was shot by the passenger of a Mercedes, which had pulled up alongside the victim’s van as he waited at the junction of London Road and Stanford Road in Stanford-Le-Hope at about 6.55pm on May 10, 2016.
A court heard the attack was ordered by Edward Michael Christopher Dooley, 24, after he was severely injured by a member of the victim’s family in November 2015. His assailant had pleaded guilty to GBH on May 3, 2016 and was later jailed for eight years.
Dooley instructed Kacey Adams to carry out the shooting in retribution. Adams then instructed others, including Daniel Wallace, 33, to assist him.
The Mercedes was found in Rainham on May 14 and had been stolen from Billericay the previous December. Adams, 34, was linked to the car through forensic evidence inside.
Further investigations revealed a Volkswagen Touran registered to Adams was seen near Wallace’s home address in Barking in the hours before the shooting.
It had then travelled in convoy with the Mercedes, before returning to the Barking address after the attack.
Both vehicles had also been seen in the Stanford-le-Hope area in the preceding days.
Wallace and Adams were in the Mercedes but the driver of the Touran remains unidentified.
Dooley, unemployed, of St Edwards Way, Romford; Adams, a trainer, of Covert Road, Ilford; and Daniel Wallace, of St Mary’s, Barking, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder. They denied the charges and stood trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday January 9.
They were convicted on February 13.
In a separate case, Wallace and Adams were also convicted in connection with an aggravated burglary in Halstead, Kent, on April 26, 2016.
They tied up a man and woman aged in their 60s, poured boiling water from a kettle over their heads and bodies, beat them and threatened them with a knife and a hot iron.
The ordeal lasted almost two hours, before Adams and Wallace eventually fled at around 11pm, stealing a quantity of cash and jewellery.
Police were alerted shortly after, when the man managed to untie himself.
Both victims were taken to hospital with serious injuries. The woman suffered around 30 per cent burns to her body and was treated in an intensive care unit for a number of months.
Wallace and Adams admitted two counts of aggravated burglary and two counts of grievous bodily harm when they appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on February 23.
A third man, Drew Morris, 27, formerly of Rayleigh, was charged with burglary, which he admitted in court. He was not in the house as the victims were being tortured.
Sentencing for both the Essex and Kent cases took place at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday March 31 and concluded today, Monday April 3.
Wallace and Adams each received three life sentences for conspiracy to murder, aggravated burglary and grievous bodily harm. They must each serve a minimum of seven-and-a-half years before being considered for parole for the Kent offences, and 12-and-a-half years for the Essex offence.
Dooley was jailed for 16 years for conspiracy to murder.
Morris was jailed for four years and three months for burglary.
Speaking after the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Smith, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate – and senior investigating officer for the Essex case – said: “This was a horrendous crime that left the victim with severe, life-changing injuries.
“It is incredible that he survived such an attack and this could easily have become a murder investigation. The victim is now continuing his long term recovery.
“These convictions and sentences represent many months of detailed investigation and I would like to thank the dedicated team that were determined to get to the truth.
“These convictions represent the capability of the Serious Crime Directorate to tackle organised crime and bring to justice the most dangerous criminals who seek to harm our communities through the use of serious violence.”
The judge gave commendations to the officers involved in both cases.
