Rival drug gangs held late-night shootout in Rushden to settle their differences

One man received a gunshot wound during the incident
The incident happened in Newton Road, close to the cemetery and a number of homes. Pictured are Samuel John Cole (top) and Kaine Simms (bottom)The incident happened in Newton Road, close to the cemetery and a number of homes. Pictured are Samuel John Cole (top) and Kaine Simms (bottom)
The incident happened in Newton Road, close to the cemetery and a number of homes. Pictured are Samuel John Cole (top) and Kaine Simms (bottom)

Two rival drugs gangs met just metres from people sleeping in their homes in Rushden to settle their differences with a late-night shootout.

One of the gangs was seen earlier on CCTV walking through the town centre openly carrying what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun.

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Two gang members were sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on Friday (August 13) for their part in the incident that left a man with a gunshot wound.

Samuel Cole (left) and Kaine Simms (right)Samuel Cole (left) and Kaine Simms (right)
Samuel Cole (left) and Kaine Simms (right)

Prosecuting, barrister Luke Blackburn said that the incident had happened in the early hours of January 24, 2018 close to the cemetery in Newton Road.

"Two opposite camps of drug dealers met in two different vehicles to settle their differences," he said.

"Each side had a loaded gun."

One man was shot in the right arm, suffering a fractured humerus and leaving a bullet lodged in his arm.

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"He was shot side-on and, had the bullet not been stopped by his arm, it would likely have entered his torso," added Mr Blackburn.

Kaine Simms, of Hitchin Road, Milestone, Hertfordshire, had originally been charged with attempted murder for his part in the incident but a jury found him not guilty of that crime, instead finding him guilty of grievous bodily harm.

Sam Cole, 23, from Rushden but of no fixed abode, was in a rival gang to Simms and on the same side as the shooting victim Jordan Callan. He was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, a charge to which he pleaded guilty.

The authorities were alerted to his involvement in the crime after Cole was phoned by his armed robber brother Lee, then a serving prisoner, at 6pm on the day of the shooting.

Mr Blackburn said: "That call was monitored.

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"He described detail.. including a pistol being used to shoot Mr Callan in the arm.

"Cole said he, himself, had a weapon ready to use

"The shooting related to money owed from one side to another. It related to involvement in 'food', a codeword for drug dealing.

"It happened because someone had been knocked over with a vehicle three or four days before.

"It's possible from CCTV to see a group of five figures seen walking in Queen Street, with one of them carrying what seems to be a sawn-off shotgun."

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Mr Blackburn said the sighting of these men earlier in the evening, thought to be associated with Cole and Mr Callan, could have been the reason that, shortly afterward, a black Hyundai car left Wellingborough and went to Rushden.

At 1.08am, a white Seat Ibiza was also spotted driving in Rushden,

Later, police saw the black Hyundai which failed to stop and began a pursuit. Simms had left the car when police got there but was traced by a Nike bag he left in the car which had a 'high amount' of gunshot residue. Residue was also found on the window of the car.

The court was also told that, from the start of 2017 to July 2018, Cole had been a heroin and coke dealer for which he is already serving a seven year and three month sentence imposed by Northampton Crown Court in 2019.

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He appeared in Friday's hearing from HMP Peterborough where, during a break in the proceedings, he could be heard asking if he could request the removal of the press from the hearing, telling a prison officer that he wanted to stay at that particular jail because they have phones in their cells, and that he was hoping for a four year sentence so that he could be moved to a Category D open prison within six months.

The court was told that the weapon being carried by Cole had never been recovered.

Mitigating for Simms, barrister Christopher Surtees-Jones presented three character references from his client's sister, stepmother and girlfriend.

He said: "Mr Simms is a very caring, dedicated, family man."

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He added that his client had youth convictions, saying: "He's not a man of good character but perhaps as close as one can get.

"He was just 21-years-old and I hope I don't do him an unfair disadvantage if I say he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer."

It was agreed by the judge that Simms had not been the one holding the weapon while the groups were in their cars, but rather that he had been charged as part of a joint enterprise. Simms' role in the drug gang was described by counsel as a 'runner' who was usually 'tucked away in a drug user's flat.'

His barrister also said that his client had had to wait more than three-and-a-half years for his case to come to court. He said Simms had 'quickly' got out of drug dealing after the incident and his only conviction since then was for possession of cannabis in 2019.

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Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking said: "It's often a feature of these cases that there's an older person involved.. but encouragement goes a long way to sustaining and fueling that violence."

David Kaye, 56, of McInnes Way, Raunds, had also been charged with attempted murder but died before the proceedings could be completed.

Barrister Liam Muir, mitigating for Cole said he was already serving a long sentence for drug dealing and had pleaded guilty to the offence. He was also now on the prison council and had 'matured substantially'.

Judge Lucking said that the group spotted on CCTV earlier that evening in Rushden was 'openly' carrying a firearm and that she was sure this group was associated with Cole.

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She added that Sims had said he had been robbed in a car park in Rushden and that his group of associates went out looking for their rivals.

"Immediately after.. Simms and his associates set off for Wellingborough and returned a short time later. I'm sure that was to collect the pistol used to shoot Mr Callan."

"Simms and his group followed the other men and ended up near the cemetery. This was a shootout, at night, between rival criminals in a public place. It was a residential area.

"(Callan) was lucky not to lose his life.

"This offence was committed in the course of organised crime. At least two shots were fired with a high risk to the public."

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Simms, for grievous bodily harm, was committed to prison for seven years and six months and will serve two-thirds in custody before being eligible for release.

Cole, for possession of a firearm, was committed to prison for three-and-a-half years to run consecutively to the sentence he is currently serving. He will serve half of the time in prison and half in the community on licence.

Unhappy with the length of his sentence, Simms's family heckled the judge as they left court at the end of the hearing.

Although firearms incidents in Northamptonshire remain rare, in an unrelated incident, three Rushden men were jailed in 2016 for their part in a failed shotgun murder plot less than a mile away from this incident.