Nine members of a drugs gang have been found guilty of murder after a man was stabbed to death in a case of mistaken identity in Nottingham. Michael Anton O'Connor, 31, died in hospital after being attacked outside a house in Wilford Crescent West on 10 November 2021.
Nottinghamshire Police said O'Connor was acting as a peacemaker between two rival gangs but was mistaken for a drugs kingpin. He was unarmed and unaware he was walking into a trap set for the intended target. The court heard he suffered a stab wound to the heart and died at the Queen's Medical Centre.
The murder was the culmination of a drug war between two gangs vying for control of the local drugs market. Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin described the killing as 'cowardly in the extreme', noting O'Connor was ambushed by masked men armed with a gun, sword, knife, axe and hammer.
In addition to the nine murder convictions, two women were found guilty of other offences: Kerry-Anne Shepherd, 35, of assisting an offender, and Gemma Fearon, 38, of encouraging or assisting an offence. All 11 will be sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on 20 June. Two other defendants, Rebecca Bell and Curtis Sheard, were acquitted of murder and manslaughter.
