'What goes around comes around': The words of a brutal gunman who shot up an innocent gran's home on Mother's Day

Three career criminals have been jailed for shooting up the home of a grandmother with a sawn-off shotgun after she had returned home from a Mother's Day lunch. The attack left the entirely innocent gran cowering in shock.

The hooded gunman, Ross Pate, casually blasted a hole through the front door of the flat in Rochdale and then fired a second shot through the window, after the terrified householder had returned home from a Mother's Day lunch with her family.

A court heard the trio wanted 'revenge' in a row with the householder's son over a woman. Now Pate, and two accomplices, have been handed lengthy 'for public protection' jail sentences.

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The shocking daylight attack happened on the early evening of March 27, in 2022, while the grandmother was resting in a back bedroom of her flat on Hill Top Drive in Kirkholt, Rochdale.

After the attack, one witness said she saw the victim 'frightened and completely in shock' when she eventually emerged from the flat.

The victim, who lived alone, told the court in a victim impact statement: "I was, and still am, in complete disbelief that somebody fired a gun into my house... You expect to read these things in the news, you don't expect it to happen to you.

"As bad as it was, and as much of a nightmare it was, I'm aware of how much worse it could have been. I was left in shock for days and utterly terrified.

"I just kept crying, it was awful. I couldn't be on my own and had real difficulty feeling safe wherever I was. I was left unable to sleep.

"The attack on me and my home has changed the way I am. I am now a very nervous person, jumpy, considerably paranoid and a bit angrier. I no longer feel safe and secure in my home."

She added that she 'no longer feels safe' in own home and that it was 'horrible to feel this way every day'. She admitted she was now 'obsessed' with the incident and 'thinks about it every day'.

"I hope with me things will get better but now I do not know if this will happen," she said.

Pate, who was himself the victim of a shooting as a younger man, and his accomplices Jason Charnley and Richard Powell, had been drinking earlier that day and formed a plan to attack the flat as part of a dispute Pate had with the householder's son which may have been over a woman, Manchester Crown Court was told.

CCTV captured the trio, all hooded, stalking the property before Pate opened fire. A judge dismissed Pate's claim that he 'assiduously' checked the home was empty before firing his weapon.

It was a 'wholly unjustified attack' and the householder 'had nothing to do with the dispute', said Judge Sarah Smith, who said the trio had 'collectively decided to arm yourselves with a sawn-off shotgun'.

The defendants intended the shooting to be 'an unambiguous and extremely violent message' to the householder's son, said Judge Smith.

The trio were charged with possession of a firearm with an intent to endanger life but were found not guilty of this offence following a trial. However, they admitted an alternative offence of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

During the trial, Powell told jurors the 'revenge' attack was to stop the feud 'escalating' in the future. Pate's mother's home was said to have been attacked weeks earlier.

But Judge Smith rejected his assertion, pointing out there was a 'an obvious risk of severe physical harm' from the attack, concluding the victim had suffered 'serious psychological harm'.

The court heard Pate, 41, of Newchurch Street, Rochdale, has 84 previous offences to his name, including for violence, robbery, drink-driving and - at the time he shot at the house - he was serving a suspended prison sentence for battery.

He was said to have been diagnosed with ADHD but the author of a pre-sentence report concluded Pate had a tendency to 'blame other people' and alcohol for his offending. The court heard he was shot when he was younger and he told the the author of the report 'what goes around comes around'.

His co-accused Charnley, 36, of Roch Mills Crescent, Rochdale, also has a long criminal history with offences including for violence, burglary and robbery. The author of his pre-sentence report said he was 'manipulative and predatory'. He fled when police tried to arrest him at a house but cops eventually found him hiding under several mattresses next door.

Powell, 40, of Ogden Street, Rochdale, also had a string of previous convictions to his name, including for violence and drugs crimes. He told the author of his pre-sentence report the trio were delivering 'informal justice' but the author said the attack was actually to achieve 'social dominance over another group of men'.

Judge Smith told Pate his was a 'leading role' in the shooting, adding: "It was your dispute. You discharged a firearm into the home of a wholly innocent woman who in fact you knew had nothing to do with the dispute with her son. The effect on her has been profound."

The judge activated a two-year suspended prison sentence order he was serving at the time of the shooting for an offence of battery. He was also handed the defendant a consecutive extended 'sentence for public protection, which means he will have to apply to the Parole Board two-thirds of the way through a sentence of five years and seven months for the shooting. He was also handed an extended licence period and was told he will only be released during that period if the Parole Board considers him safe to be released.

Judge Smith told Charnley he played a 'lesser role', adding: "You leant encouragement and support in the full knowledge of what was intended although you yourself did not discharge the firearm."

Charnley was also handed an extended sentence 'for the public protection, which means he will have to apply to the Parole Board for release two-thirds of the way through a notional sentence of four years and ten months. His licence period was set at six years.

Judge Smith told Powell he had also played a 'less role' although he 'knew exactly what was going to happen and you were there to encourage and support Pate'.

Powell was also handed an extended sentence 'for public protection'. It means he also has to apply to the Parole Board for release two-thirds of the way through a notional sentence of four-and-a-half years, with a licence period of a further 12 months.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Russ Clarke said: "Back in March 2022, Ross Pate, Jason Charnley and Richard Powell all attended the address with one purpose - to fire live shotgun rounds into the property in the hope of instilling fear and terror. They all played a key role in what took place having discussed what they were going to do earlier that day.

"All showed a complete disregard for human life with the occupant of that property present inside. It is only through luck that nobody sustained serious injury or was killed. The impact on the victim and her family has been significant as she continues to try to come to terms with what happened that day.

"The home is somewhere everyone has the right to feel safe and secure, therefore this was an intrusion and violation of the most serious kind and one which will have long-lasting consequences. Despite what took place that day, the victim has shown great courage, determination and resilience throughout the investigation.

"It is clear that Pate, Charnley and Powell pose a significant danger to the public. Acts of such serious violence and terror will be investigated with no stone unturned as we seek to bring those responsible to justice. Firearms pose a serious risk to society, and I would ask anybody with information relating to firearms to contact the police and play their part in making our streets safer."