A row over posting made on a social network site has ended with three men being jailed after a shotgun was fired at a group of people outside a Roehampton youth club.
On 3rd May 2008 there had been an argument between two girls, aged 22 and 19 years old. The latter was said to have been verbally abusing the former via the internet site Facebook.
On the evening of Saturday 3 May 2008, they began to fight each other at a nightclub in Wandsworth High Street.
During the course of the fight, the younger girl received a black eye.
Around lunchtime the following day, 4 May, 2008 Jordan Radford, Martin Mitchell and 14 year old boy went to the Roehampton Youth Club. The club has an upstairs bar used by local people.
Jordan Radford (pictured right) entered the premises and saw the first girl and her boyfriend. An argument broke out, resulting in Jordan Radford inviting the boyfriend to go outside for a fight.
He refused and Jordan Radford then punched the woman in the face. The two boys began to fight, continuing outside into the car park.
Mitchell (pictured right) pulled a sawn off shotgun out of a plastic refuse bag and ran out of the car park and jumped over the wall.
The first time Mitchell tried to fire the shotgun it malfunctioned, not discharging. But the second time, he was able to discharge the second barrel directly toward the victims, the woman and two other men with her.
None of the people were hit but a stationary car was struck.
The woman attended Kingston hospital for medical treatment to her face but was later discharged.
On 5 May 2008 officers carried out a search at an address in Highcross Way, SW15. In the bedroom of a 15 year old girl, police recovered two shotguns, one loaded pump action and one sawn off, plus a large quantity of ammunition.
The sawn off shotgun was later linked to the Roehampton youth club shooting incident. The pump action was subsequently linked to both Mitchell and Radford through forensic evidence.
The girl was arrested and later charged for possession of the firearms. She was found guilty on 27 July at Balham Youth Court and given a six month curfew order and a three year supervision order.
Radford & Mitchell were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on 22nd December. 18 year old Jordan Radford, previously of Shawford Court, Roehampton, was sentenced to five years and nine months for possession of a sawn off shotgun (see picture right) and six months for assault on a 22 year old woman, to run consecutively.
17 year old Martin Mitchell of no fixed address, was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to cause gbh with intent and possession of a sawn off shotgun.
DS Chris Jones of Operation Trident said,"These two young people were acting in an unbelievably irresponsible way; they brought a dangerous firearm into a public place where they were intent on settling a dispute they had with a young woman and her friends. It was fired at close range and it is miraculous that no one was injured and they are not going to prison on more serious charges."