Nottingham gang leader tried to shoot rival minutes after man was stabbed dead in street
A Nottingham gang leader tried to shoot a rival minutes after a man he knew was stabbed dead in the street. Gang leader Tremayne McKenzie cornered rival Paula Usherwood In Mickledon Close, The Meadows, on November 10, 2021, before pointing a gun at her and pulling the trigger.
However, the pistol failed to fire and Usherwood escaped uninjured. This came just minutes after Usherwood had been involved in the murder of 31-year-old Michael Anton O'Connor, who had been sent in the place of McKenzie to a meeting between the gangs.
Eleven people, including Usherwood, were sentenced to more than 270 years in prison between them last year for the murder, which took place in Wilford Crescent West. A second trial, which was focused on how McKenzie's gang responded to the fatal ambush and the turf war over Class A drugs in the city, concluded at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, September 20, at Nottingham Crown Court.
Prosecutors said the McKenzie was central to the supply line of heroin and crack cocaine, as well as to the possession of the pistol and at least one knife. Lead prosecutor Christopher Donnellan KC said: “The evidence of how Tremayne McKenzie operated, ably supported by the others charged, to gain control of the lucrative drug dealing business in The Meadows area came to a brutal head on 10 November 2021.
“A violent exchange at a pre-arranged meeting – or a set up - between members of rival organised crime gangs took place in Wilford Crescent West. This left one man dead, Michael Anton O’Connor. He was sent to the meeting by, and in place of, Tremayne McKenzie.
“When McKenzie lost contact with O’Connor, he and his group may not have known at that point that O’Connor had been killed, but they knew something must have happened to him and went looking for the other side.
“They were prepared for a serious confrontation and their purpose was to confront, attack, and given what had just happened, it also became a retaliation. They had a gun and ammunition, and those convicted must have known that life would be endangered, and they had at least one knife."
Defendants denied conspiring to possess a firearm, ammunition and knife or knives with intent to endanger life, insisting they had not been correctly identified in some of the CCTV footage. However, expert imagery analysis taken together with other pieces of evidence presented to jurors over many weeks of evidence led to guilty verdicts in August.
The defendants were sentenced on Friday at Nottingham Crown Court, with those convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs also learning their fate. The sentencings included:
Tremayne McKenzie
Aged 32, formerly of Barent Walk, Bestwood, Nottingham. Pleaded guilty to: Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Found guilty at trial: Conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to possess ammunition without a firearm certificate, conspiracy to have a bladed article in a public place.
Total sentence: 20 years and 3 months imprisonment with a 5 year extended licence.
Jeziekel Dennis
Aged 21, of Lightwood Road, Buxton. Found guilty at trial: Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to possess ammunition without a firearm certificate, conspiracy to have a bladed article in a public place.
Total sentence: 10 years in prison. He must serve half of his sentence before he’s eligible for release.
Jimmy Reeves
Aged 49, formerly of Bernard Street, Sherwood, Nottingham. Found guilty at trial: Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Total sentence: 12 years in prison. He must serve half of his sentence before he’s eligible for release.
Melissa Lynn
Aged 34, of Scrivelsby Gardens, Chilwell, Nottingham. Found guilty at trial: Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
Total sentence: 8 years in prison. She must serve half of her sentence before she’s eligible for release.
Kishan Vyas
Aged 29, formerly of Lammas Gardens, The Meadows, Nottingham. Pleaded guilty to: Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Total sentence: 9 years and 2 months in prison. He must serve half of his sentence before he’s eligible for release.
Elkedee Watson
Aged 34, of McGregor Close, Birmingham. Pleaded guilty to: Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Total sentence: 4 years and 5 months in prison. She must serve half of this sentence before she’s eligible for release.
Three other people involved were also sentenced to a combined total imprisonment of 21 years and 11 months. Their identities cannot be reported for legal reasons.