Boyfriend of Shooting Victim Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Charges

The individual identified as the boyfriend of a woman fatally shot in Merseyside has entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Ashley Dale, aged 28, died in August 2022 after a gunman forcibly entered her residence in Old Swan, Liverpool. This incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between her assailants and her boyfriend, Lee Harrison. During his appearance at Liverpool Crown Court, Harrison confessed to conspiracy to supply both heroin and crack cocaine, in addition to admitting possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Judge Brian Cummings postponed the proceedings until 21 February for sentencing. Harrison’s arrest occurred on 25 November, following a vehicle stop by law enforcement officers on Jennifer Avenue within the city. The court was informed that the 27-year-old, along with his co-defendant Terence Rice, 36, faced charges of conspiring with one another and “other persons unknown” to distribute Class A drugs during the period from 1 October to 26 November. Testimony from a trial held last year indicated that Harrison, residing on Liverpool Road, Huyton, had been “totally uncooperative” with police investigators after his partner’s killing. Ms. Dale, an environmental health professional employed by Knowsley Council, was shot by James Witham, 42, who used a Skorpion submachine gun to open fire inside her residence. He discharged 10 rounds in her dining room; one struck Ms. Dale in the abdomen as she stood near the back door, while five other bullets impacted the wall of an upstairs bedroom. Subsequently, Witham and his co-defendants, Joseph Peers, 29, Niall Barry, 26, and Sean Zeisz, 28, were found guilty of her murder. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Harrison was the intended victim of the shooting, a consequence of a dispute with Barry that had flared up again at the Glastonbury festival in June 2022. Rice, Harrison’s co-accused from Bearwood Road, Kirkby, also entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin, and is scheduled to be sentenced on the identical date.