Daniel Gee had no idea when he entered the store for an aisle that the police were coming

Daniel Gee was blissfully unaware as he stood in line to buy a sandwich that he would soon find himself in the back of a police vehicle.

The former Everton gangster was found in the New Springs area of ​​Wigan on Tuesday (June 25). Famous for turning his neighborhood into a round-the-clock drug market, Gee had escaped from Kirklevington Grange Prison in North Yorkshire on May 27.

An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, described the scene as officers entered the normally quiet council property. He told how Gee was actually buying a sandwich from an off-licence near the Kirkless Hall Inn pub when he was caught and mentioned he had seen him several times around the town in the past week, the Liverpool Echo reports.

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He said: “Yesterday he was buying a sandwich, he was talking, then the next moment the police came out of nowhere. They probably knew it was in the store. He complied with the officers when they told him to get on the ground. handcuffed him and he was smiling and laughing with them as he was led away.”

As for the local vibe, he added: “You’ve got a lot of Liverpool people around here. I’ve never had a problem with him when I’ve seen him around.”

It also emerged via the ECHO that another individual was present with Gee at the time of his capture, who was also seen getting into a police car.

Merseyside Police have yet to confirm any further arrests linked to Gee’s prison break.

Photographs released by Merseyside Police show Gee smiling as he is caught in a shop on Albion Drive in Wigan. Angela Whalley, a local mother who has lived in the area all her life, spoke to the ECHO about the neighborhood’s decline.

The 54-year-old nurse complained: “It got worse. We used to leave our doors open, people would come in freely, we knew all our neighbors when I was a child. Everything has changed now.”

She added ruefully: “There used to be a waiting list to live on this property, now look at this. There’s drug dealing outside the front door, cars coming and going, guys on bikes. I’ve lived here all my life. , it’s a shame.”

Gee was sentenced to an indefinite period of public protection in 2010 after being convicted of weapons offences, including plotting to arm himself for punishment against teenager Jamie Starkey. Gee suffered serious injuries when Starkey shot him outside an Anfield pub; a bullet went through his stomach and lung and exited his back.

In October 2009, Gee was convicted of two counts each of threats to kill and blackmail.

Jurors were deadlocked on the more serious charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition. On the brink of his second trial, Gee, formerly of Maryport Close, Everton, pleaded guilty to the latest charge.

Prosecutor Ian Unsworth KC commented that Gee’s thirst for revenge “knew no bounds”.

Given that Gee was in an open D-prison before his escape, it seemed likely that he would be released from his indeterminate sentence shortly. However, after being recaptured, he is due to be sent back to prison and will face an extended period behind bars before being eligible for parole again.