In June 2022, Stockport police recovered a loaded revolver style handgun and ammunition hidden in a cupboard at an address in Edgeley, Stockport.
Joshua Gibbons, (28) of Durham House, Edgeley, (jailed for nine years), Tyler Gibbons, (22) of Durham House, Edgeley (jailed for seven years) and Jordan Proctor, (33) of Hall Fold, Lancashire (jailed for nine years) were all forensically linked to the weapon.
Investigation
An investigation was launched to understand how this firearm had ended up in Stockport and in the hands of these men.
Hours after they heard their firearm had been recovered by police, the three conspirators met to plan their next move.
One plan included Joshua Gibbons flying to South America to escape potential prosecution. He then made the decision to flee to Suriname. Later, police uncovered texts he sent to a friend saying he’d ‘f***ed off man hot for me over there at mo’.
After two months in the sun, Joshua Gibbons returned to the UK via Holyhead ferry port in August 2022. Knowing he was wanted, he handed himself into Cheadle Police Station.
In September 2022, Jordan Proctor was arrested following a warrant at his house in Rochdale. Tyler Gibbons was arrested at his house in Edgeley in November.
Police believe that on June 4, Joshua Gibbons went to Whitworth to collect the firearm from Jordan Proctor. However, shortly after, Gibbons was involved in a road traffic collision on Thorburn Drive, Whitworth.
During that investigation, significant footage was found which potentially showed Gibbons removing the firearm from the vehicle before police arrived at the scene.
Following a trial at Bolton Crown Court, the trio were found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm and conspiracy to possess ammunition.
DC Jon Greenslade said: “This was a longstanding investigation which spanned over 18 months. None of the defendants offered any explanation into the presence of their DNA on the firearms, ammunition, or any context of their association, meaning it was for police to prove.
“And that’s exactly what we did. Working with partners and utilising resources from across the force we were able to remove a deadly weapon from our community and bring those involved in firearms possession and distribution to justice.
“Programme Challenger will continue to clamp down on criminals who think they don’t have to follow the same rules as the rest of us, and regularly endanger others with their acts.
No stone unturned
Kate Green, deputy mayor of Police, Crime, Criminal Justice, and Fire, said: “This is excellent work from our Stockport Challenger Team. It shows that we will leave no stone unturned in taking action to seize criminal items and this work goes a long way to clamping down on serious, organised crime.
Sentences like these demonstrate to our Greater Manchester communities that criminals will be caught and brought to justice.”
