Two men jailed over revenge shooting in Preston
Two men who shot a man in revenge for him beating one of them in a pub fight have been jailed for almost 50 years.
The shooting planned by Paul Matheson who had come off second best during the brawl with Jamie Robinson on the evening of 11 July 2021, the day England played Italy in the final of Euro 2020. Shortly after being beaten Matheson got in touch with his friend, Daniel Quinn, and the pair set off in Quinn’s Ford Focus, armed with a handgun.
They arrived at Jamie Robinson's mum's address in Bowlingfield in Ingol, and shot Jamie through the front door with a 9mm handgun.
The bullet injured his arm before going through his abdomen and fracturing his hip.
The 32-year-old suffered severe internal injuries and lost up to two litres of blood.
He only survived thanks to emergency surgery.
Detectives from the Force Major Investigation Team launched a major inquiry and pieced together the movements of Matheson and Quinn by examining their mobile phones and trawling through CCTV to track the vehicles.
Unbeknown to the pair the Ford Focus was fitted with a tracking device which provided detailed evidence of the vehicle’s movements as it carried its occupants across Preston to carry out the revenge attack.
They were arrested and, following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, were both charged with attempted murder.
The pair had denied the charge and following a trial at Preston Crown Court were found not guilty of attempted murder but were convicted of Section 18 wounding with intent and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Matheson, 39, of Houldsworth Road, Preston, was sentenced to 20 years custody, with a further five years extended licence after being deemed to be dangerous.
Quinn, 30, of Holme Slack Lane, Preston were sentenced to 18 and a half years custody, with a further five years extended licence.
Quinn was jailed for nine years for an unrelated offence earlier this year. He was told he would have to serve half of that sentence before the 18 and a half year tariff would start.
Detective Chief Insp Mark Haworth-Oates, from the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “Today’s sentences reflect the seriousness of this offence.
"What started as a pub brawl quickly escalated into Matheson and Quinn getting hold of a firearm and going to the address where they knew Robinson would be and firing through the door, knowing that Robinson was crouched just behind it.
"The injuries that Mr Robinson sustained were serious and long lasting – they will have an impact upon him for the rest of his life and it was only because of emergency surgery that he survived. “I hope these sentences send a message that we will absolutely not tolerate the use of firearms on the streets of Lancashire.
"We will relentlessly pursue those who resort to such levels of violence and put them before the courts."