GOOCH gang members were all involved in crimes ‘reminiscent of Al Capone and Chicago in the era of prohibition’ according to the judge who put them behind bars.

Judge Mr Justice Brian Langstaff said: “Manchester is not the Wild West, but many of you treated its streets as if it were.”

Notorious

He spoke as he sentenced 11 men, all members of Gooch, the city’s most notorious gang. Five of the men were given life sentences after being found guilty of murder and other offences. The other six men were locked up for between five and a half and 13 years.

'Message'

The judge said in imposing such hefty sentences he was ‘sending a message to the law abiding citizens of Manchester.’
 He described how gun crime had been a ‘significant threat’ to Greater Manchester and how the Gooch gang’s crimes hampered regeneration and interfered with locals gaining a ‘chance in life.’
GMP’s ‘biggest ever gang trial’ followed the murder of Ucal Chin, 24, and then Tyrone Gilbert, 23, who was shot at Ucal’s wake. 

Click here for full background, including picture galleries and videos.

Victims: Ucal Chin and Tyrone Gilbert   

Victims' families tell of 'raw pain'

Shadow of the gun lingers

'Territorial'

Mr Justice Langstaff said the killings were either motivated by ‘mindless gang warfare with a territorial cause’ or were to ‘eliminate their opposition in the drugs trade.’
The judge painted a terrifying picture of gang life. He described how the guilty men used an arsenal of weapons – including submachine guns, handguns, revolvers, sawn off shot guns and hollow tipped bullets - to ‘kill and wound’. They took guns into nightclubs and fired at members of the public who had offended them in the street.
He described how gang members even encouraged a 12-year-old to play with a gun. Those convicted of drug offences dealt cocaine in clubs and heroin and crack on the streets. They employed young girls to deal drugs for them.

Wasted

The judge said they had wasted their ‘organisational and business talents’ on a life of crime.
Colin Joyce, 29, known as ‘the general’, must serve a minimum of 39 years before being considered for parole. He had been found guilty of the murder of Ucal Chin in June 2007 and then of killing Tyrone Gilbert at Ucal’s wake. Joyce, of no fixed abode, was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Michael Gordon at the wake as well as conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life. The judge described him as ‘a leader of men’ and a ‘controlling person’.

'Hysterical'

In an outburst to the court, Joyce, who defended himself, said: “It is drunken hysterical media coverage. It is a circus and is not going to make any difference.
“I have no doubt from the outset of this case you have made up your mind but it is not going to take away the freedom I have within me or the innocence I have got.” After he spoke he was clapped by his co-defendants.

Firearms

Lee Amos, 33, of no fixed address, was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years after being found guilty of murdering Tyrone Gilbert and the attempted murder of Michael Gordon.
Aeeron Campbell, 25, of Withington, was sentenced to a minimum of 32 years for the murder of Tyrone Gilbert, the attempted murder of Michael Gordon, conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He also admitted possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.
 
Conspiracy

Narada Williams, 28, of Fallowfield, was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years after being found guilty of the murder of Tyrone Gilbert, the attempted murder of Michael Gordon, conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was also found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life for his part in a shootout with rival Doddington gang in Wilcock Street Moss Side.

'Violence'

The judge told him: “I do not accept that you were in any way subordinate to Colin Joyce. You were prepared to endorse violence to enforce drug debts.”
 His brother Ricardo, 26, of Moston, will have to serve a minimum of 34 years after being found guilty the murder of Tyrone Gilbert, the attempted murder of Michael Gordon, conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to supply class A drugs plus possession of cannabis.
 Aaron Alexander, 23, of Gorton, was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Hassan Shah, 25, of Longsight, was jailed for a minimum of nine years for the same charges as Alexander.

Shoot-out

Kayael Wint, 20, of Old Trafford, was jailed for a minimum five-and-a-half years after he was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life for his part in a shoot-out in Moss Side.
 Ricci Moss, 21, of Denton, was jailed for six years after he was convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
 Tyler Joel Mullings, 18, of Urmston, was ordered to serve six years detention in a young offenders institute after he was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life for his part in the shoot-out in Moss Side.

Drugs

Gonoo Hussain, 26, of Longsight, was jailed for five-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
 Mr Justice Langstaff said the reactions to the verdicts from the dock showed that with the exceptions of Aeeron Campbell and Amos the defendants ’could not care less’ and saw their convictions as a ‘mark of honour.’
 Referring directly to a victim impact statement made by Ucal’s sister Racquel Chin which expressed hopes that some good might come out of the murders, the judge said he hoped the sentences would deter ‘future generations from being sucked into the same criminality’.

Gangster in court rant