A convicted murderer who spent four years on the run from the law is facing a life sentence after a much-loved dad was gunned down in the streets.
Callum Halpin, 28, is looking at a life behind bars after he was convicted of murder under "joint enterprise" laws that held him equally responsible for the death of Luke Graham, 31, in June 2018. His accomplice, 32-year-old Wade Cox, is spending at least 36 years behind bars after blasting Graham at point blank range as he sat in his van in Ashton-upon-Lyne, Greater Manchester.
But prosecutors said Halpin shut the door of the van Graham was sat in when he was shot, stopping the dad from escaping, took the gun off of Cox and arranged for the Audi the pair had travelled in before the murder to be burnt out. The Manchester Evening News says Graham, 31, known as 'Tank', was targeted after his drug dealing stepped on the toes of an organised crime gang in the area.
After the killing Halpin fled the country and became one of the UK's most wanted men. He spent four years on the run but was caught last May near Vilamoura in the Algarve The area is described as a luxury coastal resort.
At Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court, Halpin was convicted of murder after he 'encouraged and assisted' the killing. He is due to be sentenced on Friday. The trial heard that the murder was part of a drugs turf war.
Prosecutor Richard Pratt KC said: "It may well be the activities of Luke Graham and Anton Verigotta as rival drug dealers to Wade Cox and his associates provides some explanation for the extreme hostility that appears to lay behind this shooting." Graham and his associate, Verigotta, had both been in Ashton-under-Lyne on June 13 before the slaying.
Verigotta had been to a drug den on Birch Street several times that day to supply drugs, and on his last visit Graham accompanied him. But shortly after they left three men entered in balaclavas and demanded that the occupants call Verigotta back, threatening them with violence if they did not comply.
Minutes later, a van being driven by Verigotta with Graham in the passenger seat arrived. Cox emerged from the house and fired his gun through the van's passenger-side window, hitting Graham in the shoulder with what would prove to be a fatal bullet.
Cox also fired shots at Verigotta, who was struck in the leg as he fled. Halpin was then seen to stop Graham from escaping from the van.
The prosecutor added: "The evidence would seem to suggest Luke Graham is still alive at this moment and he's attempting to get out with Callum Halpin, we say, shutting the door to prevent him."
Halpin, of Beede Street, Openshaw, had denied murder and wounding with intent but was found guilty. At trial, he claimed he'd shut the door because he thought Mr Graham 'was going to attack him'.
Mr Graham's family said of the victim: "Luke was a loving son, dad and brother, who was always there for his family and friends. He was the type of person who would go out of his way to help others and now we are broken as a family.
"We can't believe that he's gone and that he has been taken from us in such a horrific and cowardly act of violence. Losing Luke has devastated me as a father, and I wouldn't want any other parent or family to go through the hell that I am living in at the moment."
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