GANGSTER "Dodgy" Dave Courtney choked back tears last night after his stepson was shot dead - and said: "He was a proper little solja and I was proud of him."

GANGSTER "Dodgy" Dave Courtney choked back tears last night after his stepson was shot dead - and said: "He was a proper little solja and I was proud of him."
He pleaded for calm as cops feared a tit-for-tat gang war could erupt over the hit on Genson Courtney, 23.

Cagefighter Genson was ambushed on Sunday night as he got into his VW Golf outside the home of his girlfriend Ginny.


Ambushed ... Genson Courtney
He was shot in the head and shoulder and died in hospital early yesterday.
The murder in Greenwich, South East London, is believed to have been ordered by a drugs baron crossed by Genson - suspected of recent robberies on low-level dealers.

Underworld legend Dave, 53, said: "If anyone needed an advert to say crime doesn't pay then let Genson be that advert."

Dave - hardman, writer, actor and the model for Vinnie Jones' character in movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - added: "Genson had a lot of friends who are ready to take revenge. I'm trying to keep a lid on that.

"He was a naughty boy but I was proud of him. He was a man's man.

"We were close - and even shared a cell when we were both in jail earlier this year."

Genson's mum Jenny, 42, said at home in Plumstead, South East London: "We're torn to pieces."

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Jamie Michael Cliff sentenced to 25 years for killing ex-girlfriend and her roommate

Convicted killer Jamie Michael Cliff should spend at least 25 years behind bars for stabbing his ex-girlfriend 19 times and slitting the throat of her room-mate before lighting him on fire, B.C. Supreme Court Justice William Ehrcke ruled Monday.

It was only the second time in B.C. history that a judge ruled that a killer convicted of second-degree murder must serve a minimum of 25 years in jail before being eligible for parole.

A jury convicted Cliff June 10 of two counts of second-degree murder for attacking Lana Marie Christophersen, 26, and 21-year-old Andrew Gawley in east Vancouver on October 25, 2008.

The only other person guilty of second-degree murder who was ordered to spent so long in jail is serial killer Robert Pickton, convicted in December 2007 in the slayings of six women.

A second-degree murder conviction carries a life sentence with a minimum parole eligibility period of 10 years, where as a first-degree conviction carries an automatic term of 25 to life.

Ehrcke said "these two murders fall into the worst group of offences and Mr. Cliff is a member of the worst group of offenders."

Cliff, 36, sat emotionless in a dark sweater and white shirt as Ehrcke said the deaths of Christophersen and Gawley were "particularly brutal, pointless and without provocation."

"These were senseless, cruel and cowardly murders," he said.

He called Cliff "a merchant of misery" for his years manufacturing and selling methamphetamines and other drugs.

And he said Cliff had been given numerous chances at rehabilitation after dozens of previous convictions, including 13 for assault and one for manslaughter.

"All the previous attempts at rehabilitation have failed," Ehrcke said. "Mr. Cliff has been in trouble with the law more or less continually since his first conviction for assault when he was just 13 years old."

The judge noted that Gawley, who didn't even know Cliff, was stabbed in the throat as he lay in bed, then doused with gasoline and set on fire as he called 911. Gawley survived the attack, underwent surgery and skin grafts and died three months later of infection at Vancouver General Hospital.

"Mr. Gawley must have suffered terribly for the three months he lived in hospital," Ehrcke said.

As the judge announced the rare maximum term, relatives and supporters of the two victims sobbed and cheered in the public gallery.

A former boyfriend of Christophersen's gestured at Cliff as he was led away by sheriffs and Cliff responded by showing the spectator his middle finger.

Several of Christophersen's relatives wore pins with her photo on it.

The young woman had dated Cliff for several months in 2008, living with him briefly in a fortified house from which he sold drugs. She broke up with him and moved out, taking a one-month sublet for October in Gawley's east Vancouver apartment until her new place was ready.

Gawley was not even in Vancouver for part of that month as the film school graduate was off doing charity work for World Vision.

Christophersen had been with Cliff the night before she was slain at a Richmond drug house, where the two had fought. They took a taxi to Gawley's apartment about 4 a.m. Oct. 25.

About four hours later, neighbours heard Christophersen screaming "he's going to kill me" and Ehrcke said she was likely being stabbed at the time.

Cliff then went to Gawley's bedroom and told him "that Lana was dying" as he stabbed Gawley in the throat.

"It is okay to give up - you are dead, you are dead. Go to sleep," Cliff told Gawley, according to statements the victim gave to police before he died.

Cliff fled the scene and called a number of gang associates to help him hide out, but was arrested a few days later.

Cliff's lawyer Jim Heller had argued for a minimum jail term of 17 or 18 years, saying "this was not the worst of cases and Mr. Cliff is not the worst offender."

And he highlighted Cliff's difficult childhood: an alcoholic father and drug attack-prostitute mother who gave him up at 12. He was likely sexually abused as a child, the court heard.

He bounced from group home to group home as a teenager and was constantly being in trouble with police, except for a brief stint as a military cadet which he loved.

But Ehrcke rejected Hellers's submissions, saying Cliff deserved the maximum sentence for his brutal crimes.

"I find this necessary for the protection of the public," Ehrcke said.

 

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Boyfriend's anguish over Emily's death

The boyfriend of a New Zealand teenager who died mysteriously in the United Kingdom has spoken publicly for the first time, saying it was "disgusting" that he became a suspect in her death.

Emily Longley, 17, died at boyfriend Elliot Turner's Bournemouth home in May. How, though, remains unclear.

"I don't know. All of us don't know how she died," Turner said.


Love of his life ... Elliot Turner with Emily Longley.
"It is weird. God works in mysterious ways."

Detectives initially thought drugs were to blame, but toxicology results ruled that out. Police are still investigating and Turner was arrested, but not charged.

Dorset police said they had extended Turner's bail "to grant detectives the time necessary in order to fully investigate all relevant lines of inquiry".

Turner, 19, said he had been "living in a nightmare" since the death of his girlfriend, from Auckland.

"I find it actually disgusting and hurtful the police arrested me," Turner said. "I knew more about that girl, her secrets, her worries than anyone else and I ... sit here and think, not only has the girl I loved so much passed away, I was under suspicion, which I could not believe.

"I'm still here at my house missing Emily more than anyone."

While no funeral has been held for Longley - her body is still with police - a service was held in England which her New Zealand-based parents attended. Turner could not go.

"My bail conditions prevented me from attending the memorial so I never got to say goodbye to the person I loved more than anyone."

Turner said he did not provide his girlfriend drugs on the night she died.

"The toxicology report was negative, I did not give her any drugs and the post-mortem was inconclusive."

Turner said it was difficult dealing with the media attention when Longley died. Turner said people on Facebook accused him of being involved in gangs and drug dealing.

"I was privately educated from a respectful family of jewellers and silversmiths not a gangster.

"Imagine being in my shoes, it's like I'm living in a nightmare and so many ridiculous rumours were spread. Some people accused me of being a gangster ... a big-time drug dealer, which was a pack of lies."

It was reported that Turner and Longley, known to friends as "Barbie", had a whirlwind on-and-off relationship. Turner painted a picture of a perfect love.

"We truly had so many amazing memories and romantic times I will never forget.

"Many weekends away, going out for dinner three times a week, clubbing twice a week and I'd speak to her every day for three hours on the phone ... we just clicked when we met."

The pair "were very similar".

"I saw a part of Emily no one else saw. A cute girl who realised she did not have to put on a facade in front of me.

"I never judged her and she could be completely herself."

Turner said he had sought help for depression since Longley's death.

"I can't stop thinking about her.

"It doesn't seem real. I still have the mini love notes and letters I keep in my wallet and read them every day."

 

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Reputed gang member, Roland Chin, is facing numerous weapons-related charges, after a recent traffic stop.

A later search of an Escalade – believed to be obtained by crime — revealed a loaded handgun hidden in a cardboard box under its hood.

Acting Staff Sgt. Jason Walker, with the organized crime section’s community response unit ,said Chin was arrested on June 12 during a traffic stop in a black Escalade.

While police believe it was obtained by crime, and fraudulently registered to Chin, Walker said they do not know whether he was aware of those details or not, saying he may be “a legitimate victim.”

He is not facing any charges in relation to the vehicle and the investigation is ongoing.

Walker said police were searching for the vehicle not Chin when the arrest was made in the early-morning hours of June 12.

"Our investigation led us to believe it was obtained by crime and we made our frontline officers aware of the vehicle and that's how we found it," he said.

"Mr. Chin was cooperative."

Chin, who was sent to prison for 23-months for weapons and drug-related convictions, lost his brother Roger in a gang-related shooting in 2008.

Last July, Chin was given statutory release on those charges to serve the rest of his sentence in the community.

In August, Calgary police arrested him in a traffic stop wearing a bullet-proof vest , carrying two cell phones and he also had a pocketknife.

By November 2009, a National Parole Board panel revoked his release and sent him back to prison.

Chin, who has always denied being a gang member, said the phones belonged to his father who forgot them in the car and that, given fears by police he might be targeted in gang violence, the vest was for his protection.

At the time the panel said the decision was reached because Chin failed to follow conditions — including not having a cell phone, adhering to a curfew and avoiding gang members — imposed upon him.

"I'll be 26 in a month, I'm getting old, too old for this," he told the two-member panel at the time.

"I was trying to get my life together but it didn't work out too well .. I was trying."

At the time it was anticipated Chin’s new statutory release date would be in early 2011.

It is not known exactly when he was released again.

Walker said it is a relief to seize the loaded gun in the latest dealings with Chin.

"It comes down to public safety - there we have a loaded firearm in a vehicle being driven around on the streets," he said.

"To what end, I don’t know ... nothing good can come of it."

Chin is remanded in custody until July 6.

He is charged with numerous weapons-related charges including carry a concealed weapon and possesses an unlicensed weapon.

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THE stepson of celebrity gangster Dave Courtney has been blasted to death in a gangland execution

THE stepson of celebrity gangster Dave Courtney has been blasted to death in a gangland execution, it emerged yesterday.
Genson Courtney, 23, was shot in the head at close range as he sat in a car close to London’s O2 Arena.
Detectives are investigating the theory that he was lured to the spot after being caught up in a feud between rival gangs.
The suspected gunman was seen running away.
The death is a crushing blow to Dave Courtney, who rose to fame in the 1990s as a self-styled gangland enforcer.
Bragging of friendships with notorious gangsters including the Kray twins, the 52-year-old claimed to be the model for the Vinnie Jones character in the movie Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
Genson was shot as he sat in a black Volkswagen Golf in Banning Street, Greenwich, shortly before 11pm on Sunday, Scotland Yard said.
Police found him slumped in the car with gunshot wounds to his head and shoulder.
Paramedics rushed him to hospital where surgeons fought to keep him alive but he died in the early hours of yesterday.
Speaking at his home in Plumstead, south London, Dave Courtney said: “I’m shell-shocked.
“Police have been here all day and they are inside now so I don’t want to say anything other than I’m devastated.”
Officers from the Yard’s Operation Trident squad, which investigates shootings in the black community, are appealing for witnesses.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Gowe said: “At this early stage, it is believed a male suspect may have ran from the scene in the direction of Christchurch Way, Greenwich, shortly after the shooting.


“I am appealing to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious to contact the police.” He added: I would like to reassure anyone that Trident has great expertise in protecting witnesses and there are a huge variety of measures that can be put in place to protect you.”
Dave Courtney’s claims of gangland connections have been questioned in the past.
He was only nine when the Krays were jailed, but he claims to have arranged security for Ronnie Kray’s funeral in 1995.
He also bragged that he has been shot at, stabbed and had part of his nose bitten off during his “tough guy” career in the underworld.
In 2004 he was cleared of attacking his wife, Jennifer Pinto, over an alleged lesbian affair.
Four years earlier, he walked free from the Old Bailey after he was cleared of taking part in a plot to plant cocaine on an innocent woman.
During the trial, he was named as a registered police informant using the alias “Tommy Mack”.
But Courtney insisted he simply took advantage of the system to disguise a relationship with a corrupt detective.
“I have never been a grass,” he said.

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