What the Met Police describes as a “dangerous” south London gang of six men have been jailed for firearm offences following an investigation.
Intelligence developed by Met officers through forensics, technology and covert tactics, including surveillance, led officers to suspect the possession of an illegal firearm at the Clapham home of David Messenger.
In the early hours of a June morning last year, the police raided the address and discovered three firearms and ammunition hidden in a shoebox in a garage.
Messenger was arrested before officers accessed deleted Snapchat conversations between Messenger and Jordan Joseph. These showed Joseph asking Messenger to store the weapons and bring them to the funeral of Lemar Urquhart, who was fatally shot in Brixton in October 2022.
Later that day, officers discovered that a “gang associate”, Chuckiel Simms, and another individual were travelling in a taxi towards Wandsworth Cemetery for the same funeral. Police quickly moved to stop the taxi and discovered a firearm and ammunition, as well as a folding pocket knife. Both men were arrested and taken to Wandsworth police station.
Another vehicle was stopped later with gang associates Nyron Johnson-Cross, Demare Vassell and Croydon man Jordan Jones in it.
They had attended the Urquhart funeral.
A firearm and ammunition were discovered in the vehicle alongside a series of knives and Class A drugs. Police also obtained an audio recording from the driver’s internal dash cam which had picked up conversations between the three men. This included discussions around where the firearm was, who was in possession of it, the disappointment of not having more than one firearm and a discussion on how to prevent DNA transference onto the firearm.
Detective Superintendent Victoria Sullivan said: “We’ve seen time and time again that guns destroy lives and communities. The shootings in recent months in parts of London are a terrible reminder of this.
Painstaking: Det Supt Victoria Sullivan
“I am immensely proud of the officers involved in this painstaking investigation for going above and beyond to make London safe by removing these dangerous offenders from the capital.
“The Met’s sustained work on firearms shows our commitment to making London a safer place. That progress and the success of this investigation should serve as a message to criminals and gang members using firearms – we will come after you and we will bring you to justice.”
Last year, 386 illegal firearms were seized across the capital.
The police are claiming success in reducing firearm-related murders in London – from 12 murders in 2021-2022, to 10 in 2022-2023, to eight murders in 2023-2024.
Anyone with information relating to firearms or shootings is asked to call 101, while information can also be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Chuckiel Simms, 25, of Blacktree Mews, Lambeth, was sentenced to nine years nine months imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, July 30. He was found guilty for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition and possession of a knife.
David Messenger, 30, of Clapham Manor Street, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court on June 28 for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Jordan Joseph, 29, of Acorn Walk, Southwark was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court on June 28 for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Nyron Johnson-Cross, 31, of Corrance Road, Lambeth, Demare Vassell, 28, of Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, and Jordan Jones, 31, of Stretton Road, Croydon were all sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. All three were jailed for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at Kingston Crown Court in May.
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