Three men have been handed life sentences for the murder of a grandfather who was fatally shot through his living room window at his home in County Durham.
Sean Reay, 30, who fired at Barry Dawson, 60, must serve a minimum of 32 years before being considered for release. His accomplices Kelvin Lawson, 38, and Thomas Sterling, 22, received minimum terms of 28 and 26 years, respectively.
The trio were convicted of murder at Teesside Crown Court at the end of October following a trial.
Mr Dawson was struck in the chest at his property in South Moor, Stanley on April 5.
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The single bullet punctured his heart, lung and liver and he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards.
Sentencing the men at Teesside Crown Court, Mr Justice Cotter described their actions as an "extraordinary crime" committed on an ordinary residential street.
The judge told the defendants they had transformed the neighbourhood into "something that you'd only see on TV or in films, and then not in this country".
He said Mr Dawson was a "wholly innocent man" with no involvement whatsoever in an earlier dispute that had sparked the violence.
The convicts appeared at Teesside Crown Court
| Wikimedia CommonsIt emerged children had been playing in the street just moments before the weapon was produced.
Mr Justice Cotter branded Reay a "dangerous man" and warned the trio: "Until you reject the code, you will not be safe to re-join society."
Mr Dawson had spent an ordinary day before his death, enjoying breakfast with a friend at a local café in the morning and passing the afternoon with his partner.
In her victim impact statement, Sarah Hopwood spoke of the man she affectionately called "Buck".
COUNTY DURHAM NEWS
The victim was struck in the chest at his property in South Moor, Stanley
|She told the court he was "not just my partner, but an adored father and grandfather who was loved by all who met him".
Ms Hopwood described how Mr Dawson had resided on the same street for two decades and was highly respected within the community.
She added: "There are no days when I don't cry, I miss the love of my life. I feel this has not just destroyed my life, but all of his family's."
The violence stemmed from an earlier confrontation that morning when a green Jeep Cherokee arrived at Reay's property in Annfield Plain.
Occupants reportedly threatened to set his house ablaze.
Mr Justice Cotter said he was certain the three men spent the day drinking and plotting their response.
The court heard Reay recruited Kevin Dorward, 38, as a getaway driver using a £380 drug debt and the promise of £100 worth of drugs.
Dorward's cousin Keith, 48, was brought in without payment.
Both Dorwards were acquitted of murder and manslaughter, but admitted perverting the course of justice by attempting to burn Kevin's Seat Arona.
Michaela Hetherington, 36, was also convicted of the same offence for falsely reporting the vehicle stolen.
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