Watch armed police arrest West Midlands man after he shot victim at point blank range
A video shows the moment a Wolverhampton man was arrested by armed police after he shot his victim at point black range and placed trackers on his car.
Dramatic bodycam footage shows the moment armed police arrested a man in the West Midlands after he shot his victim at point blank range.
Leon Haughton, from Wolverhampton, shot his victim at around 1.20am on April 6 in a car park in Dudley, and was then seen on CCTV running away and getting back inside his car before driving off.
West Midlands Police say they were first made aware of the incident after the victim in his 20s presented at hospital with a gunshot wound on April 6 at 1.45am.
A thorough investigation ensued, and officers worked around the clock to piece together CCTV evidence from across the area.
Haughton’s attempt to evade officers came to an end when armed officers spotted him driving through Wolverhampton on Great Hampton Street on April 14. Upon searching the car, a viable shortened shotgun was found in the boot still loaded. Eleven cartridges were also found alongside it.
Officers found that Haughton had been tracking his victim and placed GPS trackers onto his car by using cable ties to tie it to the metal work underneath. The force says they also discovered he had researched his victim in great detail.
Appearing before a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Leon Haughton, 34, from Wolverhampton, was found guilty of attempted murder on October 10. He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and possessing a prohibited firearm. Haughton appeared before a judge at Wolverhampton Crown Court on November 5 and was jailed for 32 years.
Detective Inspector Francis Nock, from the Major Crime Team, said: “This was a targeted, pre-planned attack by Haughton and it’s only down to sheer luck the victim wasn’t killed.
“This has been an incredibly in-depth investigation right from the very start with different teams from across the force working to piece together exactly what happened.
“We analysed a large amount of CCTV footage as well as mobile data and were able to unearth just how much research Haughton had done into his victim.
“We were able to trace his movements leading up to the day of the attack and his movements after. I want to thank everyone involved for their time in helping get Haughton behind bars.
“I hope this sentence sends a message to others thinking they can get away with using guns in our community, that they’ve got no place on our streets and we’ll always work tirelessly as we’ve shown here to get justice and put them before the courts.”
