A thug who carried out acid attacks and shootings on behalf of an underworld boss left a dad-of-three with temporary blindness.
Kirkdale man Jonathan Gordon charged £6,000 to commit an acid attack and £10,000 to blind someone. Gordon, linked to the notorious 'Deli Mob' gang, carried out contract violence for an underworld boss.
He nearly blinded one man after throwing a container of acid in his face, planned further attacks, and organised the shooting of another man’s house. Gordon was involved in two other street shootings in Liverpool.
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Yesterday Gordon, 34, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm; two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, and one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life. The north Liverpool man was found guilty of the charges following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Gordon's associate Dylan Johnston, 27, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. Stephen Anthony Wissett , 28, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
The three men, who all formed part of the same conspiracy, were prosecuted as a direct result of the police penetration of the EncroChat phone network. On April 14 2019 the first victim left his house in Milton Street, St Helens, to get a charger from his car.
Gordon, who used the handle Valuedbridge on EncroChat, was waiting for him and threw a container of acid in his face. The victim was temporarily blinded but regained his sight months later after medical treatment. During an identity parade, he picked out Gordon.
Gordon planned a second acid attack on a man in Blackpool . His boss said that the victim “needs a good litre on him” – and a third attack on a man in Warrington. The Blackpool attack was cancelled because it was planned to happen during the first lockdown when the roads were empty and the offenders were worried about police spotting their stolen car.
On April 6 2020 Gordon and accomplices Dylan Johnston, 27, and Stephen Wissett, 28, drove a stolen Ford Fiesta to Birtles Road, Warrington, and planned to throw acid on a man who lived at the property.
Spotting the house had CCTV they abandoned the attack and decided to return the next day in disguise.
But the next day, April 7, while in Liverpool, the three offenders were approached by patrol officers. Gordon, Johnston and Wissett ran off but the car was seized and the attack prevented. Forensic examination found Wissett’s DNA on a Lucozade bottle, the steering wheel and a pair of gloves. Johnston’s DNA was on another pair of gloves.
The crime boss was undeterred by the failed bid and wanted Gordon to go back to Birtles Road and “double the dose” and “cook” the intended victim with acid.
During this period of time the NCA and police realised that a grenade had been left in the front garden of the house in Birtles Road, Warrington. Using the EncroChat intelligence, NCA officers organised for the bomb squad to conduct a controlled explosion on the grenade on April 14.
Because of this, the OCG paused the planned acid attack because it was obvious law enforcement had become involved. Gordon still discussed the planned acid attack, telling his boss: “He getting blinded, bro.”
EncroChat messages also showed Gordon had been involved in a street gunfight on January 24 2020 with an unknown man.
Cell site evidence showed Gordon’s mobile phone was in Wilburn Street, Liverpool, around midnight, and Gordon also sent his boss a message saying he “let off a clip in the street”. Officers who attended the scene found a kicked-open front door to a house with Gordon’s DNA on it and on the handle of the back door.
Messages also showed that Gordon was involved in another gun fight with an unknown attacker on May 25 2020. At 11.45pm the man approached Gordon on an e-bike and they exchanged fire – a bullet from Gordon’s Grand Power handgun went through the bedroom window of an elderly couple’s house in Carisbrooke Road, Liverpool.
In the aftermath Gordon told his boss on EncroChat that he had lost his Grand Power – and sent him an image of a newspaper story about the shooting. His hand was visible in the picture and a finger print expert compared his palm with the palm in the photo and said both were Gordon’s.
Gordon was also involved in a plot to shoot up a property in Reaper Close, Warrington, on March 20 2020.
Gordon and Johnston organised a team to shoot up the windows of the house in a drive-by attack. Phone records linked the two men calling each other in the minutes after the attack. Forensics proved the bullets came from the same gun involved in the Wilburn Street shooting.
Ben Rutter, NCA Operations Manager, said: “I pay testimony to the victim in this case and thank him for his bravery and support in helping us bring Jonathan Gordon to justice.
“The victim suffered life changing injuries and the physical and mental toll of his attack cannot be overstated.
“Jonathan Gordon is an extremely dangerous offender. His actions were exceptionally wicked, he thought nothing of blinding victims for money.
“He brought a really high level of harm to the streets as an enforcer for his OCG and it is lucky no one was killed in his chaotic and reckless use of firearms.
“I commend investigating officers from the National Crime Agency, Merseyside Police and Cheshire Police. This was a long, complex investigation spanning a number of years and the officers worked tirelessly to ensure the evidence gathered left the jury in no doubt about Gordon’s guilt.”
