The state of play in Wirral's underworld was already highly volatile when two gang members launched a vicious ambush on a man cycling down a residential street.
That attack, on December 23 last year, was the final trigger leading to the horrific shooting at the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey Village the following day, which claimed the life of 26-year-old beautician and dental nurse Elle Edwards.
Her killer, Connor Chapman, was a prominent member of the Woodchurch estate organised crime group which had been engaged in a bloody feud with a rival firm, based around the Ford/Beechwood estate.
READ MORE: Elle Edwards - 'The girl who would always put a smile on your face'
Chapman was handed three life sentences with an overall minimum term of 48 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, having been found guilty of Elle's murder the previous day. During his trial, the jury saw footage of a savage street attack on Highfield Road, Rock Ferry, recorded on a Ring doorbell camera.
For many people in the area, the footage would have been familiar, having circulated on social media at the time. What it showed was Ford gang thugs Kieran Salkeld, 28, and Jake Duffy, 22, cornering victim Sam Searson, an associate of Chapman, in the front yard of a property.
Salkeld and Duffy were recorded kicking, punching and stamping on helpless Searson for around a minute, while a woman on the opposite side of the road shouts "get off him" and "there's kids here".
Salkeld can be heard shouting to the screaming witness "Mind your own business alright? Mind your own business, he's a little ken [home] robber."
Searson then murmurs: "I don't rob kens lad". Duffy can be heard saying "you know what you done you little ming" while Salkeld replies: "Don't chat s*** lad", as the pair continue to punch and kick him.
Audio footage from the clip, which was played in court, captured one of the men shouting: "leave it lad you're going to get nicked". Salkeld replies "You think I give a s*** about getting nicked?".
In a second clip, shown in court, Salkeld or Duffy can be heard to say: "You're lucky I didn't have a blade lad, you'd have got chopped up".
Just before midnight the night after the attack on Searson, Duffy and Salkeld would be severely wounded in the same hail of bullets that took the life of young Elle, bullets that were meant for them and not her. Chapman, having waited for around three hours for his his chance, sprayed the front entrance of the Lighthouse with 12 shots from a Skorpion sub-machine gun before fleeing in a stolen black Mercedes.
Trial judge Mr Justice Goose, passing sentence on Friday, said: "On December 23 last year, one of your associates [Searson] was attacked by Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld in the street. They were part of the Ford Estate gang. When you learned of that you decided on revenge, in premeditated and carefully planned murder of Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld."
The jury had been told Salkeld and Duffy, once they recovered from their bullet wounds, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and affray over the beating of Searson.
During their sentencing hearing in February this year, the court was told Searson attended Arrowe Park Hospital at around 2.47pm the day of the beating, where he was approached by a police officer named PC Jones. Katy Appleton, prosecuting, said: "Mr Searson declined to co-operate, refusing to provide a statement or report. However, he did give an unsolicited comment, stating that he was jumped by a number of males, who got out of an unknown vehicle and attacked him at around 12pm by Highfield Road and Bedford Road, Rock Ferry.
"He thought they were ‘taxing’ his bike but after waking up, he saw his bike was still there. Sam Searson was desperate to leave the hospital and PC Jones was unable to detain him."
The court heard Searson did allow PC Jones to photograph his injuries, and the police were also able to access his medical records after he was treated. The records showed Mr Searson suffered injuries to his ribs, forearm and a large laceration to the front of his head which needed glue and steri-strips.
Merseyside Police began investigating the incident and on January 5 a search warrant was carried out at Duffy's home, where officers found a blue Berghaus jacket matching the one he was wearing in the doorbell footage. Three days later Salkeld was arrested.
Neither man responded to questions in their police interviews.
The court heard Salkeld, of Enerby Close, Beechwood, had a lengthy criminal record, amounting to 24 convictions for 30 offences, including assaults, affray, drug dealing and public order offences. Duffy, of Arley Close, Beechwood, only had one previous conviction for violent disorder, relating to a mass brawl outside Anfield stadium in 2020 after Liverpool FC had lifted the Premier League trophy.
Salkeld was jailed for 27 months while Duffy was jailed for two years. Salkeld replied "nice one" and both men turned to say goodbye to their families seated in the public gallery.
During the sentencing of Chapman, the court heard neither man made a formal police report about being shot at the Lighthouse.
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