His DNA was found on the fizzy drink in an old man’s house where police also discovered thousands of pounds of drugs
19:32, 29 Jun 2026Updated 19:33, 29 Jun 2026
David McDonald, of no fixed address, aged 20(Image: Merseyside Police)
A can of Fanta found in an old man’s house led to a drug trafficker’s downfall. David McDonald’s DNA was detected on the fizzy drink inside an address where police discovered a stash worth thousands of pounds.
It came only months after a firearm bearing his DNA was recovered from another home which was being utilised by fellow dealers Francis Harrison and Ryan Humphries. The former’s involvement in the supply of drugs came amid a background of not one but two violent brawls, which saw him attack others with a weapon at a train station and brandish a knife on a city centre street.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Monday, that police attended a woman’s home on Hornby Road in Walton, which had reportedly been taken over by drug dealers in a practice known as “cuckooing”, on April 25, 2024. Officers spotted Humphries exiting the rear of the address before re-entering, at which stage he was arrested.
Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, described how a search of the property revealed a total of 54 wraps of heroin, as well as a further stash of 12.1g of the class A substance and a small quantity of cannabis resin. Harrison’s fingerprints were subsequently discovered on the packaging of the former drug.
A search of the rear yard meanwhile revealed a black bag containing a firearm wrapped in cling film alongside an accompanying magazine. This was later found to be a Ceonic blank-firing pistol which had been converted in order to enable the discharge of 9mm cartridges, with McDonald’s DNA detected on both the weapon and the strap of the bag.
Then, on June 23 of the same year, Harrison was among one of two groups of youths involved in fighting on a Merseyrail service travelling in the direction of Ormskirk. All parties were said to have exited the train at Maghull North Station before the 21-year-old defendant, of no fixed address, produced a cosh and used the weapon to “hit others forcefully to the head”.
Francis Harrison, of no fixed address, aged 21(Image: Merseyside Police)
Four days later, on June 27, police then searched the home of an “elderly male who had problems with alcohol” on Parkinson Road in Walton. This led to the recovery of 256g of cannabis, worth between £2,500 and £3,840.
McDonald’s fingerprints were found on several items throughout the house, including a bottle of vodka and cans of Fanta and coke, as well as items of clothing stained with his blood. Nearly £4,000 in cash was meanwhile recovered from a bag which also contained the 20-year-old’s bank card.
A mobile phone which had been used to send a string of flare messages advertising heroin, cocaine and cannabis for sale to customers was also found within the property. McDonald’s prints were similarly located on the device, which he had been captured on CCTV using while onboard another Merseyrail train three days earlier.
Then, on September 13, police spotted three youths “loitering” on Grey Road in Walton before “making off”. This led to officers following Humphries onto Rawcliffe Road, where he was stopped while smoking cannabis and in possession of £1,000 and three ringing phones.
A subsequent search of the now 19-year-old’s home address on Riverside Close in Bootle uncovered a total of 38.59g of the class B drug. This was said to have a value of between £302 and £443.
Harrison was then involved in further fighting between two groups of teenagers on Stanley Street in Liverpool city centre on February 28 last year, when he was seen pulling a knife from his waistband before “gesticulating” and acting aggressively towards members of the opposite gang. He then handed the weapon to an associate, who was also seen on CCTV brandishing the blade before returning it.
McDonald’s previous convictions include a youth referral order for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply in July 2022 and four years for possession of a pump action shotgun in January 2025, relating to a weapon which was seized by police in June 2023. His counsel Daniel Travers said: “He has been in custody now for, almost to the day, two years.
“In my submission, there has been an unsatisfactory delay in these proceedings. It was clear before his [2025] sentencing date that there was a forensic link to both the firearm and the drugs. I pose the question, how much longer would he have got than four years, if he were being sentenced for both? It is an unusual situation.
“The class A supply was relatively limited. The expert indicates that there were only four days when flare messages were sent. He has been involved, from the ages of 16 to 18, in serious criminality. I ask the court to bear in mind that this was a young man who, to some extent, when he first became involved, would have been exploited.
“He has now spent two years in custody. That has had a significant impact on him. He is supported today by his mother and grandfather. This has been a difficult and long period for a young man in custody.”
Harrison received youth referral orders for supplying class B drugs in February 2020 and supplying heroin in September 2022. He was then handed six months in a young offenders’ institute for dangerous driving in May 2023.
Katy Appleton, defending, told the court that Harrison’s family home had previously been subjected to a “targeted shooting”, while he was also said to suffer from PTSD after witnessing the fatal shooting of Ellis Cox. The 19-year-old was cycling on Liver Industrial Estate in Aintree with four others on June 23, 2024 when a group of men on electric bikes opened fire in their direction.
Ms Appleton added: “Both pre-sentence reports refer to Mr Harrison being exploited and vulnerable. The defendant has abstained from taking drugs while in custody. He has undertaken work within the prison servery and as a cleaner.
“At the time of the offence, the defendant was using cannabis to excess, leading to him accruing a significant drug debt, estimated to be several thousands of pounds. This led to him being subjected to threats of violence.
“He has demonstrated an emerging understanding of the harm caused by drug supply. He intends to remain drug free. The defendant is still a young man. He too is supported by his family, both his mother and his father. He has been on remand since May of 2025.”
Humphries was previously handed an eight-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months in February this year for affray, relating to the incident at Maghull North Station. His barrister Brendan Carville added: “He was 16 days into his 17th birthday when he got arrested.
“Prior to that, he was of previous good character. He too witnessed the killing of his friend Ellis Cox. The defendant says that he was his best friend. He says he died in his arms.
“It is a serious offence, even for a 17-year-old. It is not his fault, but he has had to wait to be sentenced. He is anxious to find work. He is anxious to put his criminality behind him. He could do unpaid work as part of a suspended sentence. That would give him a work ethic. That would help him.”
McDonald, also of no fixed address, admitted possession of a prohibited weapon and being concerned in the supply of heroin, cocaine and cannabis. Appearing in the dock wearing a black Nike tracksuit top, he was jailed for a further 35 months.
David McDonald, of no fixed address, aged 20(Image: Merseyside Police)
Harrison pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply, two counts of affray, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Wearing a navy blue tracksuit, he was locked up for two years and eight months.
Both smiled towards the public gallery, where family members were seen waving in their direction, as they were led to the cells. Humphries, who wore a grey hoodie, admitted possession of heroin, cannabis and cannabis resin with intent to supply and will be sentenced on Monday next week.
Sentencing, Judge Dennis Watson KC told McDonald: “The firearms offence is particularly serious and involves a converted blank firing pistol. Your DNA was on several places of the internal workings and also on the bag which held the firearm.
“On a rigorous analysis, it seems to me that it is impossible to exclude the realistic possibility that the DNA was placed on there when you were 17, and so you will be sentenced on that basis. Mr Travers has advanced the proposition that, because the offences are, broadly speaking, similar, and must have been committed, it seems, at approximately the same time, at least when you were the same approximate age, there is a serious element of overlap, and that has to be taken into account.
“The period over which flare messages relating to class A drugs were concerned was a two week period, in rough terms. Allied with this, of course, was the recovery of a substantial quantity of cannabis, a quarter of a kilogram, all but £4,000 of cash in bank notes and the phone which had sent the flare messages out, all of which tell anybody that this was a very significant street dealing operation and yours was a significant role.
“Your age is a significant factor. Bearing in mind that and the previous convictions that you have, it seems to me that, in spite of your age, there would still have to have been a significant starting point.”