Drugs and violence were at the heart of Carl Eland’s death with the murder victim playing a pivotal role in a ‘wild West’ shoot-out just weeks earlier.
Jurors heard how a long-running turf war had been raging in the North Ormesby of Middlesbrough in the months leading up to the fatal hit-and-run on Mr Eland.
Rival gangs of drug dealers were becoming involved in increasingly violent clashes as they fought over the illicit but lucrative trade in the area.
The rivalry came to a devastating head when Brandon Ali and Joey Matthews killed Mr Eland and injured his girlfriend as they cycled through Middlesbrough last summer.
The pair were in a Vauxhall Insignia, which they had bought just two day earlier, that was deliberately driven at the couple as a drugs feud boiled over on August 21, 2021.
Read more: Two men have been found guilty of the murder of Carl Eland
Francis Fitzgibbon QC, representing Ali, told jurors that the trial had been a small glimpse into the violent and chaotic world occupied by the defendants and Mr Eland.
In his closing speech, he said: “You have had a glimpse into the world these defendants and their associates live and you have had a glimpse into how they interact with one another, including evidence about fights in the street and the suggestion drugs have been dealt.
“This is extremely unattractive and probably an environment that you would recoil from and have nothing to do with any of it.
“It’s not a nice world that you have seen played out.”
And a perfect example of his words was captured in the CCTV footage showing the car mount the pavement before being deliberately driven at Mr Eland and his partner, Kassi Weir.
The shocking footage showed the Insignia plough into the rear of the bike and throw the pair through the air before smashing back onto the ground.
It was that decision to target Mr Eland on his bike that brought the bloody feud to a fatal climax.
Read more: Mother's devastating words following brutal murder of dad-of-four
A few months earlier, Mr Eland had been arrested on June 2, 2021, following an armed confrontation with Leon Parkinson, who was later jailed for his role in the violent stand-off.
Parkinson could be seen in CCTV footage, shown to the court, getting off the back of a motorbike and blasting the front door of Eland’s North Ormesby home.
The 20-year-old was then captured picking up the shotgun cartridges fired from the homemade ‘slam-gun’ before getting back on the motorbike and riding away.
Moments later Eland can be seen coming out of his Maria Street home armed with a lump of wood and an air pistol with the weapon drawn and ready to fire.
The case was one of a number of tit-for-tat retaliation shootings to have taken place around the Middlesbrough area over a few months last year, luckily, only one person has suffered serious injury.
Judge Jonathan Carroll banded Parkinson a danger to the public as he sentenced him to eight years and four months for the shooting.
"You went down the street to the address where Carl Eland lived at – this was clearly a planned attack – you knew what you were about and you were armed for it," he said.
"This is a clear example of how this behaviour rapidly accelerates into much more serious behaviour – you firing your homemade shotgun at him and him coming out with a handgun, not discharged as far as I am aware.
"This could have resulted in death, not just to you and him, but anyone in the street."
Read more: 'Wild west' shoot out as drug feud erupted into violence
Three months later, Eland was laid in the middle of the road fatally injured as the violence reached a deadly climax.
Today, Ali and Matthews were found guilty of murdering Mr Eland when they deliberately drove the Vauxhall Insignia into him as he cycled in the Homerton Road and Gribdale Road area of Middlesbrough on August 21, 2021.
The pair, both 21, were also found guilty of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent when they also injured Mr Eland's girlfriend, Kassi Weir.
Ali, of Dalwood Court, Hemlington, Middlesbrough, and Matthews, of Newcomen Green, Middlesbrough, were remanded in custody and are expected to be sentenced next week.
Read next:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here