Gang jailed for Hells Angel murder

The entire South Warwickshire chapter of the Outlaws was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court after being convicted of shooting Gerry Tobin as he rode along the M40 on August 12 last year.

Two shots were fired at the 35-year-old biker from two different handguns as he returned to his London home from the Hells Angel Bulldog Bash festival in Warwickshire. One of the bullets skimmed the base of Mr Tobin's helmet, lodging in his skull and killing him instantly.

During the seven weeks of evidence, the jury was told that the mechanic was targeted by the rival gang simply because he was a "fully-patched" Hells Angel. Rivalry between the gangs originated in the late 1960s when a series of brutal murders took place in north America.

Simon Turner, 41, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was given a minimum term of 30 years for murder and two firearms offences. Coventry man Dane Garside, 42, received a minimum 27 years for the same charges.

Sean Creighton, 44, from Coventry, will spend a minimum of 28 years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to murder and two firearms charges. Malcolm Bull, 53, from Milton Keynes, was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison for murder and possessing a shotgun.

Dean Taylor, 47, from Coventry, will spend at least 30 years in prison for the same charges. Karl Garside, 45, from Coventry, was given at least 26 years and Ian Cameron, 46, also from Coventry, received at least 25 years for murder.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Treacy told the defendants: "This was an appalling murder. A totally innocent man was executed with a firearm in broad daylight on a busy motorway for no reason other than that he belonged to a different motorcycle club than yours.

"Gerry Tobin was a decent man of good character. He was a total stranger to you. The utter pointlessness of what you did makes his murder more shocking."

Mr Justice Treacy described how the life of Mr Tobin's fiancee, 26-year-old Rebecca Smith, had been "utterly changed" by their actions. He added that Mr Tobin's parents had found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that their only son had been "cold-bloodedly executed". The judge added: "None of you has showed the remotest feeling, consideration or remorse for what you did."