Gunman Leslie Garrett shouts ‘d***head’ as he is jailed over angry Showcase Cinema

Leslie Garrett shouted “d***head” when he was jailed this afternoon.

The 49-year-old, of Ternhall Road in Fazakerley, raided a newsagent in flip flops and shot a screen guard with an AK47 on the evening of January 3 this year. He then went for a drink in the pub before continuing to the Showcase Cinema in Croxteth, where he had worked as a security guard before losing his job three months earlier for “being under the influence of alcohol” and shooting other fires outside.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that on the Wednesday night in question, Amandeep Singh worked at the unlicensed Sangha on Lower House Lane in Norris Green. The shop was empty at around 7.30pm and the shop assistant was standing behind the counter and a protective plastic screen when Garrett entered wearing a long green coat with the hood up and a pair of flip flops on his feet.

READ MORE: Live updates as Leslie Garrett sentenced for Showcase Cinema shooting

READ MORE: ‘Woman’s legs felt like jelly’ as man in flip flops walks into cinema with AK47

David Birrell, prosecuting, described how Mr Singh “noticed that the defendant’s left arm was very straight” before he “suddenly” shouted: “Come on. Money”. The employee “initially thought it was a joke and smiled,” but Garrett “produced and raised” an AK47 which he fired in his direction.

Mr Singh ran into the stock room as the gunman left and drove to the Western Approaches pub in the Ford Focus where he “ordered a drink and spoke to other customers at the bar”. He was then seen leaving the premises on CCTV with two other men following him to his car. There, he “appeared to point his firearm” at them, causing them to “back off.”

Garrett then returned to his vehicle and continued to the Showcase Cinema, where he had previously been employed as a security guard, but is said to have “lost his job following complaints about his behavior towards other members of staff”. Entering shortly after 8.45pm, again with his hood up, he approached cashier Danielle Mea and security guard Philip Smith at the box office.

He then pointed the gun at the first, but both workers “thought it was a joke.” Mr. Smith even told her, “Throw the pea-tosser and don’t point it at her.”

But Garrett replied “Come see” and motioned for her to follow him into the parking lot. Cameras then captured the moment he fired the gun repeatedly outside the cinema.

After realizing the gun was live, Mr. Smith shouted to Ms. Mea, “Get down. Get out”. Customers were “contained for their safety while police secured the area”, with 12 shell casings recovered from the scene. Meanwhile, Garrett drove off behind the footage and “fired several shots into the air” before driving off “speeding erratically and through a red light.”

He continued to a Go Local store where he “bought two mini bottles of vodka on credit” before staying in the area of ​​his mother’s house on Ternhall Road for around an hour. At around 10pm, he moved to his partner Jennifer Forshaw’s address on Malpas Road, where he started shooting again.

Four shell casings were later discovered in the front garden of her home. She later told officers that Garrett fired the gun, which she kept on her property, before leaving at her mother’s address after the couple had been “drinking alcohol and arguing”.

Shortly after 4.30am, a team of 16 officers with firearms, two negotiators and a police dog handler attended Ternhall Road in the “ballistic protected” Land Rover. Garrett’s 67-year-old mother, Olive Brown, answered the door and was escorted from the premises at gunpoint.

The defendant then appeared at the entrance wearing a t-shirt and boxers in an “agitated and aggressive” state. When the officers pointed their guns at him, he replied, “Fuck you.”

Garrett was tasered and fell to the floor where he was handcuffed and arrested. He made no comment to detectives interviewed.

Merseyside Police later recovered a Czech-made “AK47-style rifle” dating back to 1964 from the Malpas Road address on January 5. The VZ58, CZ model, which “carried military markings”, was described as being in “good condition for its age” and was successfully test fired, although only one of the 323 rounds recovered with it was compatible with the weapon.

Garrett has 10 prior convictions for 18 felonies, but only one violent conviction on his record — related to an assault charge in 2003. His last run-in with the law came in 2021, for a drunken driving charge.

Paul Lewis, defending, told the court today that an extended sentence would be “sufficient” for his client rather than a life sentence and added: “These are serious offences. He was lucky there was no death.

“Crucially, the discharge of the firearm into the Sangha was far from merchant and intentional. He leaves the Showcase Cinema when he is fired and goes outside before discharging his firearm.

“At Malpas Road, it is not directed or aimed at any individual. No victims were physically injured.

“At the really crucial moment, Mr. Garrett pointed that gun away from the people. Undoubtedly, with multiple discharges of an automatic weapon in multiple locations, there is a high risk of death or serious physical injury.

“His mental health goes through it like the rings on a tree. It is everywhere.

“There has to be a difference between someone who unloads an automatic weapon into a crowd of people and someone who does it in the air. There has to be a difference between someone discharging a weapon and threatening people directly.”

Garrett previously pleaded guilty to eight felonies – including possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, attempted robbery and possession of ammunition without a certificate. Appearing in the dock wearing a gray Nike jumper with a cross prominently around his neck, he was jailed for 14 years plus an extended license period of four years.

Judge David Aubrey KC said: “The footage graphically shows your appalling acts. (Mr Singh) thought he was going to be killed and describes his heart racing and that he had never been so scared in his life.

“This was not an isolated offense of endangering the life of another and causing panic and trepidation to others, it was the start of what can only be described as a campaign of terror and mayhem. It is fortunate that there were no casualties that night.

“You knew that cinema, you worked there as a security guard but you lost your job after complaints were made about your conduct. In my opinion, it is no coincidence that you chose that location.

“Although the court accepts that you were traumatized as a child and experienced difficulties with your mental health, in my view these factors were not the motivation in committing these offences. Alcohol, anger and resentment are constant themes and I’m glad they were the catalyst for what you did.

“I’m satisfied you knew exactly what you were doing, demanding money from a shop owner while unloading a firearm. You seemed to enjoy showing off that firearm to the customers at the checkout.

“You felt powerful and in control. I am satisfied that these offenses were born out of alcohol, anger and resentment.

“In my opinion, you are a very unpredictable person. On the night in question you behaved irrationally and put lives at risk.

“I reminded myself that a life sentence is a punishment of last resort. I do not believe that a determinate sentence provides sufficient protection to the public.

“Taking into account your age and the length of the prison term you may have to serve, the court is reluctant to impose a sentence of life imprisonment. The court will impose an extended sentence.”

Garrett greeted his supporters in the public gallery as he was led to the cells and said: “See you later. It’s going to be okay.” He was also heard shouting “k***head” as he left the dock.

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