Convicted Middlesbrough murderer guilty of hiding shotgun

Brandon Ali was jailed for 21-years last August when a drug feud ended in deadly violence and Carl eland was deliberately rammed from his pushbike by a Vauxhall Insignia which the defendant was travelling in.

Today, he has been found guilty of possession of a prohibited firearm found buried in a children’s play area in Middlesbrough, less than two years before the callous murder.

His co-accused George Lammie was also found guilty of the same charge after his DNA was recovered from the black bin bag the weapon was concealed in.

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Teesside Crown Court heard how the shotgun was found buried in woodland at the rear of the playing fields off Henry Street, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, in October 2019.

Jurors had heard how the weapon was not fully functional but a specialist police firearms officers had been able to get one of the barrels to fire but the three cartridges found with the shotgun were the wrong calibre.

Brandon Ali

Rebecca Brown, prosecuting, said Lammie had been convicted previously for drugs offences in 2017 and again in 2020. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice in 2012.

During his evidence, Ali said he had been involved in legitimate clay pigeon shooting since he was 12 and could have touched the weapon during that period.

Paul Cleasby, mitigating, urged the judge to take into consideration his client’s age at the time of the offence.

The play park where the shotgun was found (Image: Google)

Lammie, of Villette Path, Hendon, Sunderland, had told jurors that he had never knowingly touched the shotgun but accepted his DNA could have been transferred to the bag after someone tried to sell him a weapon.

Paul Green, representing the 45-year-old, said his client had played a lesser role in handling the illegal weapon.

George Lammie (Image: Cleveland Police)

Sentencing the pair, Recorder Andrew Sutcliffe KC said: “You both denied having anything to do with it (the weapon) but the jury has not accepted your version of events.”

The judge said there was no evidence of when the shotgun was buried or when the DNA and fingerprints were put on the weapon but told them it was clearly to be used in ‘criminal activity’.

He sentenced Ali to three years and Lammie to five years in prison.

Convicted murderer

Ali, of Hurworth Street, Bishop Auckland but formerly of Dalwood Court in Hemlington, and Joey Matthews, of Newcomen Green, both Middlesbrough, were found guilty by a jury last year of murder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

Joey Matthews

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.

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Mr Eland died four days later after suffering fatal head injuries. His partner, Kassi Weir, was also thrown from the bike but only suffered minor injuries.

Carl Eland

Jurors were shown CCTV of the pair when they bought the Vauxhall Insignia ‘murder weapon’ just days before the fatal collision.

Judge Paul Watson QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, sentenced both to life in prison and told them they would serve a minimum of 21 years.