Geezah
02-22-2006, 10:24 AM
JUSTICE has finally caught up with twisted cop killer Gary Nelson. The gangster was handed a 35-year jail term on Friday for the murders of club bouncer William Danso and unarmed beat bobby Patrick Dunne in Clapham.
Crime reporter BEN ASHFORD examines the rise and fall of one of South London's most feared villains
TRIGGER-HAPPY Gary Nelson forged a reputation as a man never to be crossed.
His willingness to use guns to avenge even the slightest of insults made him one of Britain's most feared criminals.
The powerfully-built cop killer - nicknamed Tyson because of his likeness to the boxer - raked in an estimated £1million fortune through armed robbery, extortion and suspected contract hits.
Those who witnessed his rise to power in South London's under-world are convinced his tally of victims goes beyond PC Patrick Dunne and bouncer William Danso.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Richardson, who led the Clapham murder hunt, said: "Nelson has often been called a hitman. But he is not just the person paid to pull the trigger. He is much more than that.
"Nelson is a major-league, organised criminal who is into extortion, drug smuggling and armed robbery and will use extreme violence in pursuit of his aims. He operated among the top echelons of the criminal world."
Born in the UK to Jamaican parents and raised in Wandsworth, Nelson served his first spell behind bars aged 16 for assault - the first of his 21 recorded offences.
He was rarely without body armour and his weapon of choice - a Browning 9mm pistol he nicknamed Satan.
Nelson, 36, could afford designer clothes, an Aston Martin and £50,000 of gold chains.
But there was one currency he worshipped above all others - respect. Anyone guilty of showing "disrespect" became target-practise.
In July 1993, Nelson spotted an ex-girlfriend sitting in a car with drug dealer Mohammed Massaquoi in Lewisham High Street.
He responded to the "insult" by spraying their vehicle with bullets. He shot the pusher four more times when the pair bumped into each other inside the SW1 club in Victoria a week later.
Van driver Gary Kewell caused offence in September 1993. He swore at BMW-driving Nelson in Merton Road, Wandsworth, for cutting him up and was shot at six times.
Retired South London detective John Jones first encountered Nelson as an aggressive teenager who idolised Yardie gangsters and moulded himself on characters from US film Boyz In The Hood.
The former detective superintendent has worked on 150 murder cases - including the original inquiry into the murders in Cato Road, Clapham - and describes Nelson as the most ruthless villain he ever encountered.
He said: "Over the years I've dealt with people who have murdered little girls for ****** gratification, people who killed their wives or husbands in fits of anger, and criminals engaged in serious gang warfare.
"But when it comes to violence and brutality, this man comes out at the very, very top of the tree.
"He would lose his rag, pull out his gun and shoot people at the drop of a hat."
Recalling Nelson's rise from lowly street mugger to hardened enforcer, the retired lawman said: "From the time he was a teenage boy he was completely fearless when it came to fisticuffs, the use of guns and knives.
"He would have had temper tantrums and behaved outrageously because his mind never progressed into that of a normal adult.
"He was like a child in many ways - but with sufficient size and ruthlessness to carry out his violent, childish ambitions.
"Even as a grown man approaching 30, with plenty of money and all these lovely girlfriends, he still chose to live at his mother's home.
"He would always run back to mummy."
Gary Nelson would shower his numerous children with gifts and affection. He is thought to have as many as six by different women.
"He never missed a birthday," added Mr Jones. "But that's the only good one could say of Gary Nelson - in every other respect he's a complete bastard."
Nelson was able to stave off justice for some time. He went on trial for the attempted murder of Massaquoi but was acquitted.
Terrified of the gangster's wrath, Massaquoi hanged himself two days later. And while the road rage attack on Kewell landed Nelson an eight-year term, he served just four
Nelson had been prime suspect in the slayings of William Danso and PC Dunne since day one.
The governor of Wandsworth Prison had written to police short-ly before the murders, warning them the thug was due for release and had boasted of his intention to kill a cop.
Nelson was arrested in November 1993 but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges - allowing him to wreak further mayhem across London.
In January 2004 he was handed a life sentence when cops found an "assassin's kit" at his mum's house in Earlsfield.
The Browning pistol - fitted with silencer and laser sight - was found hidden under his bed with 36 rounds of ammunition and a stun gun.
Two of Nelson's accomplices are also behind bars, serving a combined 21 years for shooting at plain-clothed detectives who tailed them in connection with the Cato Road murders.
But Mr Jones is still furious about Nelson's release in 1993. He said "We had a considerable amount of forensic evidence including weapons and bullets, witnesses that put him at the scene and we had evidence from the mobile phones.
"I feel, personally, if we had gone ahead at the time our chances of conviction would have been good.
"The Danso family and the Dunne family would not have had to wait 12 and a half traumatic years for justice."
NELSON will spend 35 years behind bars for the cold-blooded murders. He and his pack of "laughing" under-world assassins pumped five bullets into dad-of-five William Danso for showing "disrespect".
Beat bobby Patrick Dunne, 45, strayed into the gang's path after hearing gunshots and paid for his diligence with a bullet to the heart. Nelson was jailed on Friday for the double murder on October 20, 1993. PC Dunne's family spoke afterwards of their joy in seeing the "callous, moral coward" brought to justice.
His brother Steve, a pastor, said he had decided to forgive Nelson. William Danso's sister, Gifty Van Der Pugh, echoed Steve's words, saying: "Forgiving Nelson has made it possible for me to cope."
But PC Dunne's other brother, Ivan, said: "I do not forgive Gary Nelson and never will. I have hated him and his gang since day one and I always will. I have lost a brother, my mother has lost a son and we have all lost a good police officer."
Nelson refused to attend the hearing, instead choosing to sulk in the cells at Woolwich Crown Court as Mr Justice Wilkie gave him a double-life sentence.
Jurors had heard how PC Dunne - described as a real-life Dixon of Dock Green - arrived in Cato Road, Clapham, shortly after 9pm to investigate claims of criminal damage. Nelson and two henchmen were lurking outside the house opposite wielding a baseball bat and two guns.
The occupier, William Danso, had supposedly shown "disrespect" by refusing Nelson entry to Brixton Academy and breaking up a fight he was involved in at a shop in Leigham Court Road, Streatham.
When Danso opened his door he was shot six times.
PC Dunne, wearing his uniform and a high visibility jacket, headed across the road. His final act was to usher others to safety. The killers fired into the air in celebration and howled with laughter as they fled.
Mr Justice Wilkie said: "PC Dunne at that time was performing his public duty at a house opposite, attending a distraught householder on a completely unconnected matter.
"Nelson had decided that he, too, had to die. These killings were as callous as they were brutal and senseless." Nelson was prime suspect in the Cato Road killings and five weeks later told officers: "You'll cop it like the other one f****** copped it."
But despite an anonymous tip-off leading cops to the murder weapons buried in Wandsworth cemetery - a two minute walk from Nelson's home - the case against him was dropped because of insufficient evidence.
New evidence emerged in 2001 when a prisoner rang cops after watching a reconstruction on Crimewatch and claimed Nelson had said: "I shot the copper, the one on the bike."
Nelson was rearrested on October 18 2004 and denied murder. His lawyers offered no defence in court after the brute refused to take the witness stand. Jurors took 12 hours of deliberation to convict him.
Afterwards, detectives vowed to hunt down the two men still at large.
DCI Steve Richardson, leading the Cato Road investigation, said: "Our work is not yet complete."
Link (http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0400lambeth/tm_objectid=16729465&method=full&siteid=50100&headline=evil-killer-would-shoot-people-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-name_page.html)
Connected to this earlier thread, http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=72929 The long arm of the law
Crime reporter BEN ASHFORD examines the rise and fall of one of South London's most feared villains
TRIGGER-HAPPY Gary Nelson forged a reputation as a man never to be crossed.
His willingness to use guns to avenge even the slightest of insults made him one of Britain's most feared criminals.
The powerfully-built cop killer - nicknamed Tyson because of his likeness to the boxer - raked in an estimated £1million fortune through armed robbery, extortion and suspected contract hits.
Those who witnessed his rise to power in South London's under-world are convinced his tally of victims goes beyond PC Patrick Dunne and bouncer William Danso.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Richardson, who led the Clapham murder hunt, said: "Nelson has often been called a hitman. But he is not just the person paid to pull the trigger. He is much more than that.
"Nelson is a major-league, organised criminal who is into extortion, drug smuggling and armed robbery and will use extreme violence in pursuit of his aims. He operated among the top echelons of the criminal world."
Born in the UK to Jamaican parents and raised in Wandsworth, Nelson served his first spell behind bars aged 16 for assault - the first of his 21 recorded offences.
He was rarely without body armour and his weapon of choice - a Browning 9mm pistol he nicknamed Satan.
Nelson, 36, could afford designer clothes, an Aston Martin and £50,000 of gold chains.
But there was one currency he worshipped above all others - respect. Anyone guilty of showing "disrespect" became target-practise.
In July 1993, Nelson spotted an ex-girlfriend sitting in a car with drug dealer Mohammed Massaquoi in Lewisham High Street.
He responded to the "insult" by spraying their vehicle with bullets. He shot the pusher four more times when the pair bumped into each other inside the SW1 club in Victoria a week later.
Van driver Gary Kewell caused offence in September 1993. He swore at BMW-driving Nelson in Merton Road, Wandsworth, for cutting him up and was shot at six times.
Retired South London detective John Jones first encountered Nelson as an aggressive teenager who idolised Yardie gangsters and moulded himself on characters from US film Boyz In The Hood.
The former detective superintendent has worked on 150 murder cases - including the original inquiry into the murders in Cato Road, Clapham - and describes Nelson as the most ruthless villain he ever encountered.
He said: "Over the years I've dealt with people who have murdered little girls for ****** gratification, people who killed their wives or husbands in fits of anger, and criminals engaged in serious gang warfare.
"But when it comes to violence and brutality, this man comes out at the very, very top of the tree.
"He would lose his rag, pull out his gun and shoot people at the drop of a hat."
Recalling Nelson's rise from lowly street mugger to hardened enforcer, the retired lawman said: "From the time he was a teenage boy he was completely fearless when it came to fisticuffs, the use of guns and knives.
"He would have had temper tantrums and behaved outrageously because his mind never progressed into that of a normal adult.
"He was like a child in many ways - but with sufficient size and ruthlessness to carry out his violent, childish ambitions.
"Even as a grown man approaching 30, with plenty of money and all these lovely girlfriends, he still chose to live at his mother's home.
"He would always run back to mummy."
Gary Nelson would shower his numerous children with gifts and affection. He is thought to have as many as six by different women.
"He never missed a birthday," added Mr Jones. "But that's the only good one could say of Gary Nelson - in every other respect he's a complete bastard."
Nelson was able to stave off justice for some time. He went on trial for the attempted murder of Massaquoi but was acquitted.
Terrified of the gangster's wrath, Massaquoi hanged himself two days later. And while the road rage attack on Kewell landed Nelson an eight-year term, he served just four
Nelson had been prime suspect in the slayings of William Danso and PC Dunne since day one.
The governor of Wandsworth Prison had written to police short-ly before the murders, warning them the thug was due for release and had boasted of his intention to kill a cop.
Nelson was arrested in November 1993 but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges - allowing him to wreak further mayhem across London.
In January 2004 he was handed a life sentence when cops found an "assassin's kit" at his mum's house in Earlsfield.
The Browning pistol - fitted with silencer and laser sight - was found hidden under his bed with 36 rounds of ammunition and a stun gun.
Two of Nelson's accomplices are also behind bars, serving a combined 21 years for shooting at plain-clothed detectives who tailed them in connection with the Cato Road murders.
But Mr Jones is still furious about Nelson's release in 1993. He said "We had a considerable amount of forensic evidence including weapons and bullets, witnesses that put him at the scene and we had evidence from the mobile phones.
"I feel, personally, if we had gone ahead at the time our chances of conviction would have been good.
"The Danso family and the Dunne family would not have had to wait 12 and a half traumatic years for justice."
NELSON will spend 35 years behind bars for the cold-blooded murders. He and his pack of "laughing" under-world assassins pumped five bullets into dad-of-five William Danso for showing "disrespect".
Beat bobby Patrick Dunne, 45, strayed into the gang's path after hearing gunshots and paid for his diligence with a bullet to the heart. Nelson was jailed on Friday for the double murder on October 20, 1993. PC Dunne's family spoke afterwards of their joy in seeing the "callous, moral coward" brought to justice.
His brother Steve, a pastor, said he had decided to forgive Nelson. William Danso's sister, Gifty Van Der Pugh, echoed Steve's words, saying: "Forgiving Nelson has made it possible for me to cope."
But PC Dunne's other brother, Ivan, said: "I do not forgive Gary Nelson and never will. I have hated him and his gang since day one and I always will. I have lost a brother, my mother has lost a son and we have all lost a good police officer."
Nelson refused to attend the hearing, instead choosing to sulk in the cells at Woolwich Crown Court as Mr Justice Wilkie gave him a double-life sentence.
Jurors had heard how PC Dunne - described as a real-life Dixon of Dock Green - arrived in Cato Road, Clapham, shortly after 9pm to investigate claims of criminal damage. Nelson and two henchmen were lurking outside the house opposite wielding a baseball bat and two guns.
The occupier, William Danso, had supposedly shown "disrespect" by refusing Nelson entry to Brixton Academy and breaking up a fight he was involved in at a shop in Leigham Court Road, Streatham.
When Danso opened his door he was shot six times.
PC Dunne, wearing his uniform and a high visibility jacket, headed across the road. His final act was to usher others to safety. The killers fired into the air in celebration and howled with laughter as they fled.
Mr Justice Wilkie said: "PC Dunne at that time was performing his public duty at a house opposite, attending a distraught householder on a completely unconnected matter.
"Nelson had decided that he, too, had to die. These killings were as callous as they were brutal and senseless." Nelson was prime suspect in the Cato Road killings and five weeks later told officers: "You'll cop it like the other one f****** copped it."
But despite an anonymous tip-off leading cops to the murder weapons buried in Wandsworth cemetery - a two minute walk from Nelson's home - the case against him was dropped because of insufficient evidence.
New evidence emerged in 2001 when a prisoner rang cops after watching a reconstruction on Crimewatch and claimed Nelson had said: "I shot the copper, the one on the bike."
Nelson was rearrested on October 18 2004 and denied murder. His lawyers offered no defence in court after the brute refused to take the witness stand. Jurors took 12 hours of deliberation to convict him.
Afterwards, detectives vowed to hunt down the two men still at large.
DCI Steve Richardson, leading the Cato Road investigation, said: "Our work is not yet complete."
Link (http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0400lambeth/tm_objectid=16729465&method=full&siteid=50100&headline=evil-killer-would-shoot-people-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-name_page.html)
Connected to this earlier thread, http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=72929 The long arm of the law