Two men from south Essex were jailed today for seven years each after being convicted of firearms offences following a shooting in Billericay.
Police were contacted at 7pm on Thursday, May 17 last year following reports of shots being fired from a vehicle into an empty BMW on Mill Road. Nobody was injured.
A few days later, two 27-year-old men were arrested and subsequently charged with firearms offences.
Patrick Flanigan, a driver from Oak Road South in Benfleet and John Turner, a maintenance worker of no fixed address, appeared at Basildon Crown Court in February 2013 and were convicted of being in possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Patrick Flanigan was further convicted of being in possession of CS spray.
Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Stephen Jennings, said: "This was a serious incident which triggered a major police investigation.
"Shootings are extremely rare in Essex which is why, when they do happen, we become even more determined than ever to identify the culprits. These convictions and sentencings mean that two potentially-dangerous men will be off the county's streets for many years."
Both men had been remanded in court custody after their convictions and prior to their sentencing at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday, March 19.
