Men jailed after broad daylight shooting at South Shields home

Five men involved in a UK-wide firearms conspiracy which saw a gun fired at a home in South Shields have been jailed.

Three other men are still to be sentenced for their role in the plot.

Footage released by Northumbria Police shows shooter Stefan Simpson drawing a gun in broad daylight at an address in South Shields.

Paul Momat, 36, of Owen Drive, West Bolton and his right-hand man Joseph Millward, 29, of Davy Close, Hebburn, plotted with London-based criminals Simpson, 24, of St Matthew's Road, London and Ashlee McKenzie, 33, of Wandsworth Road, Lambeth as part of a UK-wide firearms conspiracy.

Simpson and McKenzie travelled from London to carry out the offence in the Gateshead suburb as part of a carefully executed plot that had been planned for weeks.

Momat and Millward also enlisted the help of fellow criminals Colin Crawley, 46, of Woodall Court, Croydon and his associate James Townsend, 45, of Hawksmoor Road, Oxford, to mastermind the shooting.

On the afternoon of 16 September, 2021, Simpson took out a handgun moments after the victim left his home in Heaton Gardens, South Shields.

Caspian Bhinder, 33, of Babbington Road, Streatham, was tasked with being the middle man.

Detective Superintendent Jane Fairlamb, of Northumbria Police, led the investigation and said: “This was an absolutely appalling shooting that was the culmination of weeks of careful planning by the co-conspirators, with each defendant trusted to play their part in its execution."

The well-planned plot saw Simpson and McKenzie given access to a house on Rayleigh Grove, Gateshead where Tyran Baglin, 24, of no fixed abode, had hidden a set of stolen car keys behind the television.

After the shooting, the VW car was found by police as part of an extensive and co-ordinated investigation with the handgun used in the attack stashed inside the glove box.

Working closely together Northumbria and Metropolitan Police carried out a subsequent series of dawn raids across South Tyneside and London with a number of suspects arrested.

Telephones, weapons and cash were also seized from various addresses, including £30,000 from Crawley’s home and £6,000 from an address linked to Momat.

Five of the gang members were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday 18 March.

• Paul Momat, 36, of Owen Drive, West Boldon, was jailed for a total of nine years; eight years for being found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence plus an extra year for failing to disclose the key to protected information.

• Colin Crawley, 46, of Woodall Court, Croydon, was jailed for six years and five months after admitting conspiracy to possess firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

• Stefan Simpson, 24, of St Matthew’s Road, London, jailed for seven years and three months after being found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

• Ashlee McKenzie, 33, of Wandsworth Road, Lambeth, jailed for six years after being found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

• Tyran Baglin, 24, of no fixed abode, jailed for a total of three years and eight months; three years and two months for admitting conspiracy to possess firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and an extra six months for failing to disclose the key to protected information.

Townsend, Millward, and Bhinder are yet to be sentenced after also being convicted of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Although Millward, Crawley, Bhinder and Baglin all admitted being part of a conspiracy to possess a firearm when they first appeared at Newcastle Crown Court last year, the remaining four gang members – Momat, Townsend, Simpson and McKenzie – all denied their involvement but were found guilty by a jury following an 11-week trial at the same court in January, 2023.

Detective Superintendent Fairlamb said: “While nobody was ultimately hurt, it’s clear that this behaviour is totally unacceptable and we hope these sentences send a strong message to everyone – we will not tolerate serious violence on our streets."

Detective Superintendent Fairlamb praised her colleagues and said: “This outcome has been made possible thanks to some outstanding teamwork between Northumbria Police, Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police, North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) and our criminal justice partners."

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