Dirty cash taken from a teen gang boss and his crew will go to help suicide prevention charity James' Place.
Baby-faced Harry O'Brien was the 16-year-old boss of a cannabis dealing mob behind three shootings and a firebombing. The ECHO won a legal battle to name him when he was locked up for the brutality he brought to the streets of Dingle.
The ECHO has outlined in full how O'Brien sought to rule South Liverpool by terror. And now we can reveal cash ordered by Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, to be taken off him and his gang when they were sentenced at the end of April bolstered a pot totalling more than £9,000, which is heading to Liverpool charity James' Place.
READ MORE: Judge offers drug dealing dad prison or chance to change for son
Every year, thousands of pounds of dirty cash is seized from criminals selling drugs and spreading misery in our communities. After this money is seized by police, courts normally order its forfeiture, before it used to be directed back into Home Office funds.
Liverpool Crown Court judges decided in January that these funds should be sent directly to local charities, with a different one selected each month. The groundbreaking initiative applies to smaller amounts of money, forfeited under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Added together, the total of orders judges made in April in favour of James' Place came to £9,094. That also included some £4,000 taken from gun thug and drug dealer Lewis Fitzpatrick - a man who became embroiled in an underworld war waged by cocaine boss brothers as their debt spiralled out of control.
James' Place supports men over the age of 18 who are experiencing a suicidal crisis, by providing quick access to therapy and support. Its free of charge service includes one-to-one talking therapy with specially trained therapists in a warm and safe environment at a centre in the Georgian Quarter.
Anyone can refer themselves, or someone they are concerned about, to their services. Since opening in 2018, James' Place has engaged with more than 800 men offering support and advice and completed more than 450 interventions.
In November, the ECHO reported how James' Place was helping to prevent men dying by suicide, according to a report by Liverpool John Moores University. The report stated: "Outcomes identified clearly demonstrate that James' Place is making a life-changing difference to individuals (and) their families."
James' Place was founded by Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley, following the tragic loss of their son, James, in 2006, aged 21. James went looking for someone to talk to about suicidal thoughts but didn't find the urgent help he desperately needed.
Jane Boland, head of James' Place Liverpool and clinical lead, said: "Our aim is to help men in Liverpool who find themselves in a suicidal crisis. Suicide remains the biggest killer of men under 50 in this country.
"We know males in Merseyside can suffer with feelings of suicide due to varying factors such as relationship breakdowns, housing and financial worries. We've been able to offer our unique intervention to so many men in the borough shows that our service is vital to the good work being done to combat growing concerns around men taking their lives throughout the country".
You can find out more about James' Place at https://www.jamesplace.org.uk or call the charity on 0151 303 5757, from Monday to Friday, between 9.30am and 5.30pm.
