Geezah
02-17-2006, 09:34 AM
A gangster has been convicted of killing a police officer and shooting dead another man in a London street. But it took almost 13 years for the long arm of the law to catch up with Gary Nelson, once described as "one of the most violent and dangerous men ever to have walked the streets of Britain".
Pc Patrick Dunne was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41322000/jpg/_41322966_pcdunne203.jpg
PC Dunne gave up teaching to become a police officer
The archetypal British bobby, Pc Dunne had arrived on his bicycle to investigate a minor domestic dispute involving a couple in Clapham, south London, in October 1993, when he stumbled across a gang of armed men.
The gang, led by Gary Nelson, had just left a house on the opposite side of the street having shot dead William Danso, who worked as a nightclub bouncer.
Pc Dunne, 44, had given up teaching maths three years earlier to become a police officer. He enjoyed the job and felt deeply his responsibility to the community.
When he saw Nelson and his accomplices brandishing weapons he stepped outside the couple's house and shouted at them: "Get in! Get in!"
Seconds later Nelson fired a single shot which passed through his reflective vest and uniform. It was a fatal injury.
Nelson's gang ran off laughing and Nelson was to escape justice for more than a decade.
He was arrested in November 1993 and charged with murder but the Crown Prosecution Service later dropped the case after deciding there was "insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of a conviction".
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41322000/jpg/_41322972_nelson203pa.jpg
Nelson was nicknamed Tyson due to a likeness to boxer Mike Tyson
In 1994 Nelson, nicknamed Tyson because of his resemblance to boxer Mike Tyson, was jailed for eight years for an unrelated shooting.
He had lost his temper when van driver Gary Kewell tried to overtake him on a road in south London.
The road rage incident degenerated and Nelson got out of his car and fired five times at Mr Kewell's van, hitting the bonnet and radiator.
Ten days after starting his sentence at Belmarsh high security jail, in south-east London, he attacked prison officers and had six months added to his term.
Nelson was released in 1999 but it was only a matter of time before the police would catch up with him.
A month-long surveillance operation was conducted in February 2003 and Nelson was followed to the United States, where he bought a laser device for a 9mm Browning semi-automatic.
He was tracked to London and police swooped on his flat, seizing the weapon and the device, described as being designed "to make [the gun] a more efficient killing machine".
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41322000/jpg/_41322964_danso203pa.jpg
William Danso was killed for 'failing to show respect'
In January 2004 he was jailed for life for possessing weapons and ammunition for a second weapon.
Judge James Wadsworth told him: "You are a man who has lived in the presence of guns, has chosen to frequent a culture and set of friends who carry guns and who use guns to kill and who get killed. You are a very dangerous man."
When Nelson, 36, went on trial at Woolwich Crown Court last month for the murders of PC Dunne and Mr Danso, he was brought to court every day from nearby Belmarsh prison.
Among the evidence against him was the discovery of the murder weapon in Wandsworth cemetery, south London, in June 1994, wrapped in a plastic bag with Nelson's mother's fingerprint on.
Richard Horwell, prosecuting, claimed Nelson was a man with an "extraordinary short fuse" who killed nightclub bouncer Mr Danso because he supposedly showed "disrespect".
He said there was forensic and eyewitness evidence against the defendant adding: "Nelson blames almost everyone and almost everything for his predicament ...but if you convict Nelson, as we invite you to do, he will have no-one to blame but himself."
On 17 February the jury found him guilty of both murders.
He faces another two life sentences and could be given a natural life tariff by the home secretary, meaning he would never be released from jail.
Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4703356.stm)
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Pc Patrick Dunne was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41322000/jpg/_41322966_pcdunne203.jpg
PC Dunne gave up teaching to become a police officer
The archetypal British bobby, Pc Dunne had arrived on his bicycle to investigate a minor domestic dispute involving a couple in Clapham, south London, in October 1993, when he stumbled across a gang of armed men.
The gang, led by Gary Nelson, had just left a house on the opposite side of the street having shot dead William Danso, who worked as a nightclub bouncer.
Pc Dunne, 44, had given up teaching maths three years earlier to become a police officer. He enjoyed the job and felt deeply his responsibility to the community.
When he saw Nelson and his accomplices brandishing weapons he stepped outside the couple's house and shouted at them: "Get in! Get in!"
Seconds later Nelson fired a single shot which passed through his reflective vest and uniform. It was a fatal injury.
Nelson's gang ran off laughing and Nelson was to escape justice for more than a decade.
He was arrested in November 1993 and charged with murder but the Crown Prosecution Service later dropped the case after deciding there was "insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of a conviction".
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41322000/jpg/_41322972_nelson203pa.jpg
Nelson was nicknamed Tyson due to a likeness to boxer Mike Tyson
In 1994 Nelson, nicknamed Tyson because of his resemblance to boxer Mike Tyson, was jailed for eight years for an unrelated shooting.
He had lost his temper when van driver Gary Kewell tried to overtake him on a road in south London.
The road rage incident degenerated and Nelson got out of his car and fired five times at Mr Kewell's van, hitting the bonnet and radiator.
Ten days after starting his sentence at Belmarsh high security jail, in south-east London, he attacked prison officers and had six months added to his term.
Nelson was released in 1999 but it was only a matter of time before the police would catch up with him.
A month-long surveillance operation was conducted in February 2003 and Nelson was followed to the United States, where he bought a laser device for a 9mm Browning semi-automatic.
He was tracked to London and police swooped on his flat, seizing the weapon and the device, described as being designed "to make [the gun] a more efficient killing machine".
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41322000/jpg/_41322964_danso203pa.jpg
William Danso was killed for 'failing to show respect'
In January 2004 he was jailed for life for possessing weapons and ammunition for a second weapon.
Judge James Wadsworth told him: "You are a man who has lived in the presence of guns, has chosen to frequent a culture and set of friends who carry guns and who use guns to kill and who get killed. You are a very dangerous man."
When Nelson, 36, went on trial at Woolwich Crown Court last month for the murders of PC Dunne and Mr Danso, he was brought to court every day from nearby Belmarsh prison.
Among the evidence against him was the discovery of the murder weapon in Wandsworth cemetery, south London, in June 1994, wrapped in a plastic bag with Nelson's mother's fingerprint on.
Richard Horwell, prosecuting, claimed Nelson was a man with an "extraordinary short fuse" who killed nightclub bouncer Mr Danso because he supposedly showed "disrespect".
He said there was forensic and eyewitness evidence against the defendant adding: "Nelson blames almost everyone and almost everything for his predicament ...but if you convict Nelson, as we invite you to do, he will have no-one to blame but himself."
On 17 February the jury found him guilty of both murders.
He faces another two life sentences and could be given a natural life tariff by the home secretary, meaning he would never be released from jail.
Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4703356.stm)
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