Elias Morgan and co-defendant Anthony Cleary both deny the murder of former prison officer and dad-of-three Lenny Scott
Elias Morgan (right) pictured with co-accused Anthony Cleary(Image: Lancashire Police)
Gunshot residue was found in a Mercedes car used by an alleged gunman accused of the murder of a dad, a court has heard. Former HMP Altcourse guard Lenny Scott died aged 33 after being shot six times by the electric bike-riding gunman outside a gym on Peel Road in Skelmersdale on February 8 last year.
Elias Morgan and Anthony Cleary, both of Edge Hill, are currently on trial at Preston Crown Court charged with his murder. The former is alleged to have been the man who pulled the trigger in an “act of retaliation”, which came nearly four years after the officer exposed an illicit relationship between the then serving prisoner and a female colleague.
A Mercedes GLC, which the court heard was registered to Morgan’s mum Debbie and used by him, was analysed after it was recovered by police officers from the Mossley Hill area of Liverpool on February 17. The court heard it was bearing false plates but was identified by its displayed VIN number.
Alex Leach KC told the court that the recovery driver and an RAC employee who had been tasked with opening the car “did not enter the vehicle and had never handled firearms or ammunition”. Forensic officers took samples for gunshot residue and DNA while wearing full forensic suits.
Mr Leach called expert Joanne Pryke this afternoon, Tuesday, to give evidence about gunshot residue. Giving evidence via video link, she told the court a tape kit had been applied to the Mercedes and a single characteristic gunshot particle was recovered from the driver’s door pocket.
She told the court: “When a weapon is fired, the firing pin will strike the ammunition causing it to detonate and the bullet to be expelled. As well as the bullet, residue will be formed due to the detonation and when it meets the cold air, the residues will form microscopic particles.
“These particles will contain the elements present in the primer explosive at the base of the round of ammunition. The elements most commonly found would be lead, antimony and barium.
“The residue will exit through any openings in the weapon but the most would be expelled from the muzzle in the direction of the shot. If it was a revolver it could be expelled from the barrel and any gaps in the weapon. If it was self-loading it could be from the ejection port.”
Lenny Scott, 33, was fatally injured when he was shot outside a gym on Peel Road in Skelmersdale on February 8 2024 by a gunman dressed in a hi-vis jacket.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
She told the jury that characteristic particles contain all the elements in a single particle and are very rarely found in the general environment and are classed as a characteristic of gunshot residue.
Mr Leach asked Ms Pryke how gunshot residue can find its way onto a surface, to which she replied: “Primary transfer is when someone has been near a fired gun while secondary transfer was when someone came into contact with a surface bearing gunshot residue.”
Ms Pryke continued: “Gunshot residue will remain on the surface until it is disturbed. It needs physical disturbance to be removed. If it is in a sheltered location like the driver’s door pocket it could remain indefinitely as long as it is not disturbed. It needs physical disturbance to be removed.”
Mr Pryke, who consulted with an expert instructed by Morgan who agreed with her findings, was asked to consider how the gunshot residue came to be on the door pocket. She said different explanations included “that a person connected to the shooting may have come into contact with the driver’s door pocket and transferred the residue to it,” “that the gunshot residue may have been transferred to the driver’s door pocket prior to the shooting on February 8” and “that the gunshot residue may have been transferred to the vehicle in the days after the shooting”.
Lenny Scott murder accused Anthony Cleary (left) and Elias Morgan pictured at Glastonbury(Image: Lancashire Police)
Ms Pryke confirmed all three alternatives were a possibility but added: “We can’t determine if the findings are more or less likely in any of those scenarios, so we are inconclusive.”
The court heard Ms Pryke was asked to consider if the gunshot particle could have resulted from a Border Force search when the car returned to the UK in December 2023. She said: “It is our understanding that Border Force officers are not allowed to carry firearms so there would be no opportunity for gunshot residue to be transferred.”
Caroline Goodwin KC, for Morgan, asked Ms Pryke to confirm that only one single particle was found, with the expert confirming it was “a thousandth of a millimetre in size”. Ms Goodwin questioned the expert about the possibility of the particle being a false positive which could have been because of something like the brake pads or the airbag.
Ms Pryke told the jury: “There have been tests before and people have studied brakes and airbag liners to see if you could get particles that mimic a gunshot residue. Very occasionally a particle has been found, however, they tend to contain other elements which would point it away from being gunshot residue.” She added it was “extremely unlikely” that the particle would be anything other than gunshot residue.
Ms Goodwin told the jury that numerous other places were tested in the car including the dashboard, glovebox and seatbelts. The court heard no gunshot residue was found anywhere else. Ms Goodwin told the jury a report found it was “inconclusive as to what assistance this can give us to linking the Mercedes or the shooting”, with expert Ms Pryke confirming.
The court heard Morgan attended Preston police station on February 22 2024 to speak to officers after his brother had been in custody. When there Morgan allowed for forensic evidence to be taken including fingernail clippings to look for the presence of gunshot residue. None was found, but the court heard it would not be expected to be detected two weeks after a shooting.
Mr Scott was shot outside the Peel House gym shortly after finishing a ju-jitsu class. A man who was standing with Mr Scott when the gunman approached said his final words were “who’s that guy in a mask?” before he was shot. Forensic evidence heard Mr Scott had six gunshot wounds and had been shot with 9mm bullets.
The court heard Morgan was charged with the murder of dad-of-three Mr Scott on June 6 2024. He responded: “Charged with murder? I don’t care what they say. I haven’t done anything.”
Mr Leach previously told the jury of eight men and four women during the prosecution’s opening: “The murder was, the prosecution says, an act of retaliation. The prosecution says that, once you have heard the evidence, you will be sure that, at the very least, Elias Morgan orchestrated Lenny Scott’s murder, recruiting Anthony Cleary to assist him in doing so.
A screenshot of a video of the moment a gunman approaches Lenny Scott, who was shot outside a gym in Skelmersdale in February 2024(Image: Lancashire Police)
“Moreover, the prosecution say that, when you have examined the fine detail of the evidence, you will be sure not only that Elias Morgan is guilty of murder by organising the killing of Lenny Scott, you will be sure that it was he who pulled the trigger himself. For his part, Anthony Cleary played a supporting role.
“Acting on instructions, he delivered the van containing the electric motorbike used by the gunman to a housing estate close to the gym. Moreover, he knew that he was delivering the van and bike so that they could be used by a gunman who intended to kill Lenny Scott, or at least to cause him really serious harm.
“The evidence, when examined in detail, reveals a powerful image, one in which Elias Morgan, driven by a desire for revenge and reliant on Anthony Cleary for his assistance, planned and executed the murder of Lenny Scott. Both men, the prosecution say, are guilty of his murder.”
Both Morgan, 35, and Cleary, 29, deny murder, while the latter has also pleaded not guilty to a second count of manslaughter. The trial before Mr Justice Goose continues, with the prosecution’s case nearing its conclusion.