Four men jailed for 117 years for assassination attempt on Wolverhampton underworld rival

Judge Jonathan Gosling KC chose to sentence the hardened criminals less than an hour after they were found guilty of shooting an underworld rival in Wolverhampton in September 2024.

Beckles, Gayle and Johnson were handed 30-year sentences due to their criminal records and Campbell was given 27 years due to his previous good character. 

Beckles previously served time for shooting a man in a pub car park in 2009 and possessing a revolver under his shirt. In 2020 he was sentenced to five years after being caught with another gun despite being on licence.

Gayle was jailed for firearms offences when he was 19 and then was caught selling class A drugs in his 20s. Johnson had a sting of convictions including drug dealing and wounding.

The 45-year-old victim refused to cooperate with the police investigation or give evidence in court. He would not even name the men who planned his killing in precise detail.

After being told he would be drinking in The Harp pub, Walsall Street, the men met at a pre-planned rendezvous, a scrap yard, and left for the pub in two cars, one being driven by Michael Soledolu, aged 34, of Walmead Croft, Birmingham. His evidence that he was hoodwinked into helping the gunmen helped secure guilty verdicts leading to him being cleared of all charges.

They slashed their victim's tyres so he could not drive away and then lay in wait until he left the pub. Realising his plight he ran for his life and was left with shotgun wounds after being chased down Minerva Lane and blasted from 20 yards away. 

He phoned a friend for a lift to the hospital but the total extent of his wounds are unknown due to his unwillingness to speak to detectives. 

Judge Gosling said: "You were obviously in dispute with the victim and you felt what he had done meant he deserved to be killed. You got hold of a shotgun [of which the] barrel was almost certainly sawn off.

"The motive is unknown due to the victim not revealing anything about the attack or attackers.

"But with previous convictions for drug dealing amongst you we can take a pretty good guess what it was about. Your victim is walking around with shotgun pellets inside him which cannot be removed."

He added: "Your mitigation is the effect your sentence will have on your loved ones. Your children, partners and family are wholly innocent but when passing sentences as long as these they cannot be a factor."

The judge had to decide whether the men would remain dangerous to society after they serve their sentences. However, due to the length of the punishment Judge Gosling decided against imposing life licences.

He said: "I have to decide whether these are dangerous offenders, I have no hesitation in deciding they are. They are organised thugs prepared to kill a rival or someone getting in the way of their criminal enterprises.

"You and those like you who are prepared to use extreme violence to maintain your criminal standing serious endanger the peace and security of those who live in the city in danger. When you resort to such levels of violence you have to expect sentences to reflect that. You will serve two thirds of the sentence and then be on licence until the end of your sentence.

"This is a joint offence, the shooter has not and does not need to be identified. That you resorted to extreme levels of violence meant you must expect sentences to reflect this."

The four were given 12 years for possessing a shotgun with intent to endanger life which will run concurrently alongside the attempted murder sentences.