Three men sentenced to life in prison after hiring 'hitman' to shoot man in £100,000 murder plot
Three men have been sentenced to life in prison after paying a gunman, who disguised himself as a Tesco delivery driver, to kill a man in Birmingham.
Connor Palmer, Craig Miller and Elijah Stokes were convicted of conspiracy to murder the man, who owed money to a high-level UK drug dealer currently living in Dubai.
In May 2020, the victim’s partner opened the door to their home in the Sheldon area of Birmingham to find a man in a Tesco jacket and wearing a high-vis vest.
He asked if she was ‘expecting a delivery’ and said: "He’s here, isn’t he" before walking into the house and opening fire at the man.
He was hit five times and was taken to hospital where he was left fighting for his life, but survived.
A young child was in the house at the time but was thankfully not injured.
Birmingham Crown Court heard how Palmer and Miller and another man formed a group which was paid £100,000 by the high-level drug dealer to kill their victim.
The group paid a gunman, who has never been identified, £40,000 to carry out the hit.
Stokes arranged for the car and gun to be delivered to the hitman.
In the weeks after, the high-level dealer told Miller he wanted another man to be killed.
Miller, 37, of Epsom, Surrey, and Palmer, 40, of Redhill, Surrey, were convicted of conspiracy to murder the man who was shot and were sentenced to life in prison with minimum terms of 30 years and 23 years respectively. Stokes, aged 38, of Whoberley Avenue, Earlsdon, was sentenced to 27 years with a minimum term of 18.
Miller was also found guilty of conspiracy to murder the second person, although that shooting never actually took place.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Pepperall said: "I am satisfied you, Connor Palmer, and your co-defendant, Craig Miller, were professional hitmen working together and were each prepared to kill complete strangers to order, for a fee of £100,000.
"You went about your business with ruthless efficiency and showed no compassion whatsoever for your potential victims."He described Stokes as a 'loyal and trusted lieutenant' to the Dubai drug dealer, whom he introduced to Palmer and Miller.Mr Justice Pepperall said Stokes did agree to supply a gun and car and "did so knowing full well this was a plot to commit murder."