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Three guilty of front door murder Three guilty of front door murder
(about 1 hour later)
Three men have been jailed for life for the murder of a man shot through the door of his home in a seaside village.Three men have been jailed for life for the murder of a man shot through the door of his home in a seaside village.
John Ward, 22, bled to death after a shotgun round was fired through a glass panel in the door of his home in St Osyth, Essex, the Old Bailey heard.John Ward, 22, bled to death after a shotgun round was fired through a glass panel in the door of his home in St Osyth, Essex, the Old Bailey heard.
David Taylor, 40, of Colchester, Peter Jones, 40, of Chelmsford, and Martin Valentine, 43, of South Ockenden were all found guilty of his murder.David Taylor, 40, of Colchester, Peter Jones, 40, of Chelmsford, and Martin Valentine, 43, of South Ockenden were all found guilty of his murder.
Steven Walker, 29, and Vishnu Bhaskaran, 28 were cleared by the jury. Vishnu Bhaskaran, 28, and Steven Walker, 29, were cleared by the jury.
The jury had earlier heard how a man had come to Mr Ward's five-bedroomed detached house, asking for his friend Stuart Higgins, who was at the house at the time. The jury earlier heard how the real target was Stuart Higgins, 22, who was sheltering in his friend's five-bedroomed home at the time.
But after the visitor called out to a group of men, Mr Higgins became alarmed and along with Mr Ward he attempted to shut the front door when the shot was fired, prosecutor John Dodd QC said. Taylor decided he had to be punished for what he had done John Dodd QC
Prosecutor John Dodd QC told the court how Taylor had decided to "warn off" Mr Higgins following an earlier incident involving the 17-year-old son of a friend.
Mr Higgins was said to have asked the teenager's mother for his bracelet as payment for a debt and Taylor was said to have been angered that Mr Higgins had threatened the family with a knife.
"David Taylor decided he had to be punished for what he had done," Mr Dodd told the court.
The court heard that Valentine had come to Mr Ward's door asking for Mr Higgins.
Mr Higgins became alarmed when Valentine called out to a group of men and was trying to shut the front door - along with Mr Ward - when the shot was fired.
"Higgins moved back into the internal door with Mr Ward trying to shut it with his shoulder," Mr Dodd said.
This was a revenge shooting over a comparatively trivial incident of provocation Judge David Paget
"It was John Ward's great misfortune to be standing close to Higgins when the gunman, Valentine, fired the sawn off shotgun and as a result it was Ward, not Higgins, who died that evening."
Taylor and Jones fled to Spain but were traced in May last year and returned to the UK.
Taylor, of Horley Point, Colchester, and Valentine, of South Ockenden, were sentenced to life and told they would serve a minimum of 30 years each.Taylor, of Horley Point, Colchester, and Valentine, of South Ockenden, were sentenced to life and told they would serve a minimum of 30 years each.
Jones of Danbury, Chelmsford, was told he must serve a minimum of 25 years.Jones of Danbury, Chelmsford, was told he must serve a minimum of 25 years.
Mr Walker of Fernwood Road, Holland-on-Sea, Essex, and Mr Bhaskaran of Colchester, were both cleared.Mr Walker of Fernwood Road, Holland-on-Sea, Essex, and Mr Bhaskaran of Colchester, were both cleared.
'No intent'
Higgins, 20, was given six months youth custody for contempt of court after refusing to give evidence at the trial.
Martin Brown, 26, of Manningtree, Essex, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender and was jailed for seven months at an earlier hearing.
Judge David Paget said: "This was a revenge shooting over a comparatively trivial incident of provocation.
"There was clearly no intention to kill John Ward."