A man was asked "if he was Dusty" before being shot in the leg by a gunman on an e-bike, a court has heard. The victim of the shooting on Radway Road in Huyton, Leejay Heavey, was said to have been "in the wrong place at the wrong time" when he was blasted with a sawn-off shotgun.
Instead, John Jones and John Hughes, accused of being the rider and pillion passenger of the Sur-Ron motorbike used during the incident, were alleged to have been executing a "plan to intimidate" Jordan Thompson, also known as Dusty. With Mr Heavey having had one of his calf muscles surgically removed as a result of the attack, the firearm in question was said to have been abandoned in a pub car park as his assailants were chased from the scene by police.
Prosecution opening at Liverpool Crown Court
Jones and Hughes went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday accused of firearms offences in connection with the shooting. Alex Leach KC, appearing for the crown, told a jury of seven men and five women, as well as two reserve jurors, during the prosecution's opening on Tuesday afternoon: "The prosecution say that, on the 28th of November 2025, John Jones and John Hughes discharged two rounds from a sawn-off shotgun in the direction of a man called Leejay Heavey.
"Shooting Leejay Heavey had not been their intended plan. Their plan was to intimidate a man called Jordan Thompson, who was also known by the nickname Dusty. The prosecution case is that these two defendants rode on an electric motorbike to Jordan Thompson's home, one riding the bike and the second as a pillion passenger.
"When they arrived at Jordan Thompson’s house, they saw Leejay Heavey on the street outside. They asked him if he was Dusty and, when he said he wasn't, they asked him if he'd come out of Dusty’s house, which he denied.
"One of the defendants then discharged two rounds out of a sawn-off shotgun. The first round hit Leejay Heavey in the lower leg, and the second was discharged into the ground. The defendants left the scene on the bike and were later the subjects of a police chase.
"In fact, Leejay Heavey was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing to do with Jordan Thompson. Nonetheless, it is the prosecution's case that these two men were in joint possession of that firearm and that, by discharging it outside his house, both men intended to cause Jordan Thompson to fear that violence would be used against him."
Series of calls 'arranging a meeting'
At around 2pm on the date in question, around six hours before the shooting, a man named Patrick Lacey was said to have attempted to call Mr Thompson five times. A call in the return direction similarly went unanswered before being followed up by three text messages and a second missed call.
Mr Lacey was then shown leaving his home on Knowsley Road around 10 minutes later before entering a Vauxhall Vivaro van alongside another man, Bernard Flynn, calling Hughes as he did so. While this call was similarly missed, the two men then spoke over the phone for one minute and 41 seconds shortly before 2.45pm.
Hughes, of no fixed address, was said to have received a call from an "associate" called Callum Shields shortly before 3.30pm before Jones and Mr Lacey shared a one minute and 20 second call. Mr Leach said that this series of calls showed the men "arranging a meeting".
Jones' phone was then used for the final time before the shooting at around 5pm before, shortly after 6.15pm, a second number alleged to have been used by Hughes contacted Mr Shields and the latter's partner Stacey Kelly. Mr Lacey was then shown attempting to call 35-year-old Jones, of Stamfordham Drive in Allerton, before a series of calls with Hughes shortly after 7pm.
At around 7.45pm, cell siting evidence showed that Hughes' phone was in the vicinity of Jones' home. The Vauxhall van was then captured by ANPR and CCTV cameras on Speke Road shortly before 8pm, travelling towards this same area.
Mr Lacey's phone was shown to be calling Hughes at this time, with the former's device seen in cell site data travelling in tandem with the vehicle and the latter's mobile being used for the final time prior to the shooting in another call between the two men at 8.07pm.
With the van shown circling roads in the area of Garston Park at this time, Mr Leach told the court: "The prosecution say that Patrick Lacey and Bernard Flynn had collected John Jones and John Hughes by that stage and all four were in the vehicle."
Victim left with shotgun pellets lodged in bone and muscle
The Vauxhall Vivaro was subsequently shown to stop at the junction of Cowper Way and Kipling Avenue in Huyton at 8.37pm, at which time "at least three people" alighted. Mr Leach said of this: "The rear doors of the van were opened, and what the prosecution say must have been a bike, an e-bike, was removed from the rear."
The e-bike was driven away from the van at speed, and the van drove off in the opposite direction. The prosecution say that, while Patrick Lacey and Bernard Flynn drove away in the van, John Hughes and John Jones rode off towards Shelley Close [where Mr Shields and Ms Kelly's home address was located] on the bike.
An e-bike was then captured travelling along Manor Farm Road at 10.04pm with two men on the back, with the vehicle later seen on Liverpool Road before turning left from Lyme Cross Road onto Radway Road at 10.09pm. Five minutes later, Ring doorbell camera footage from one house on this street showed the motorbike approaching Mr Heavey.
Mr Leach told the jury: "One of the men on the e-bike asked him if he had just come out of Dusty's. When he said he had not, the male asked Leejay Heavey his name. One of the men on the bike then discharged a sawn-off shotgun twice.
"Leejay Heavey was shot in the leg. He hobbled back towards the house at which the Ring doorbell was located and, as he did so, one of the men on the e-bike appeared to drop the shotgun. The man had to dismount and pick it up from the ground. He got back onto the bike and the men left the scene."
Mr Heavey was taken to hospital after suffering two fractures to his fibula, with several shotgun pellets having become lodged within the bone and muscle of his leg. He required a series of operations and skin grifts as a result of his injuries, ultimately leading to one of his calf muscles being removed.
Member of public found gun in pub car park
The bike was later seen travelling at speed on Liverpool Road, leading to a pursuit with a police car.
Mr Leach said of this: "As the bike reached the Oak Tree public house on Liverpool Road, it cut across the car park in an effort to evade the police. As it crossed the car park, one of the defendants moved his arm out in the direction of a parked car, in a movement consistent with him discarding the firearm that had been used to shoot Leejay Heavey.
"In fact, a member of the public later found a shotgun on the ground behind that parked vehicle, and it was ultimately given to the police. The firearm was examined by a forensic scientist, and DNA from Bernard Flynn, who was one of the men in Patrick Lacey's van when it dropped off the bike on Cowper Way, was recovered from the internal fore end, the part of the metalwork attached to the grip of the weapon."
With CCTV footage having shown the man who found the weapon re-entering the pub holding the Beretta double-barrel 12 gauge shotgun in his right hand, Jones and Hughes were thereafter said to have disembarked from the motorbike on White Lodge Avenue, with one of the men having fallen to the ground as he did so before both made off across parkland.
Further clips then showed one of the suspects limping, with the passenger having fled in the direction of Coral Avenue as the rider continued on foot towards Normandy Road.
The key for the discarded Sur-Ron bike was later found to contain Jones' DNA, as was a black balaclava which was found near to Coral Avenue. His fingerprint was meanwhile found on a spare e-bike battery which was recovered from a JD Sports bag which had apparently been disposed of in the park.
Jones was subsequently seen entering the Swan pub shortly before 10.30pm, thereafter being captured on CCTV "lowering his trousers to inspect his leg" in the toilets. Having then had a drink at the bar, he later took a taxi back to the Allerton area, arriving home at around 11pm.
Flynn and Lacey not guilty
Hughes, who is represented by Richard Littler KC and Iain Whitehurst, and Jones, defended by Gordon Cole KC and Daniel Travers, both deny one count of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Trial judge Mr Justice Bright also told the jury of Mr Lacey and Mr Flynn: "Originally, Mr Flynn and Mr Lacey also faced charges in relation to all of this.
"Ultimately, the prosecution decided not to pursue them and offered no evidence against them. They have formally been declared not guilty. It is not said that they had any criminal involvement relevant to this offence. Your real focus has to be devoted to these defendants."
The trial continues. The case, in courtroom 52, is expected to last for around three to four weeks in total.
