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Daniel Johnson a member of the Doddington Gang, pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of firearms. He was jailed for six years at Manchester Crown Square Court. On 2 February 2007, members of the rival gangs Doddington and Gooch were involved in a shoot-out on Wilcock Street in Moss Side, described during a recent court case as being like a scene out of Wild West movie.A number of guns were fired and during the police investigation, searches of nearby homes were carried out. During a search of a house on Pepperhill Road, police found a number of bags under sheds in the back garden that contained more than 100 rounds of small arms ammunition, three 120-gauge shotgun cartridges, two silencers and an empty magazine.
As a result of recovering this arsenal, further raids were executed at the homes and gardens of known gang members in the Pepperhill and Wilcock Street area, leading to the discovery of two loaded Baikal handguns and another silencer.One of the guns and the silencer was recovered near to Johnson's home. During the investigation, a witness was identified who was placed on the Witness Protection Programme and given anonymity in exchange for giving police information that helped identify Johnson as the man who was hiding these bags under the sheds on Pepperhill Road. Detective Constable Roy Storey, from GMP's Major Incident Team, said: "The ammunition and guns we recovered amounted to a small arsenal and came at a time when Greater Manchester was experiencing a number of tit-for-tat shootings."In recovering these guns, we undoubtedly stopped someone from being shot and killed. Johnson was an active member of the Doddington Gang and is a very dangerous man. "Both these guns were used in a number of non-fatal shootings and the likes of Johnson - who was prepared to store these lethal weapons - caused law-abiding members of the Moss Side community to live in fear during that period. "But what today shows is the dramatic strides we have taken towards removing guns from our streets and making them a much safer place to live. In recent weeks, GMP put several gang members responsible for supplying guns behind bars for more than 200 years, and Johnson's case shows that we continue to pursue those who gave Manchester the unfair 'Gunchester' label back in 2007 where they belong - in jail. "The information we received from the public was crucial - in particular the witness who courageously came forward. This witness was praised by the judge for their public-minded spirit and I hope this reassures and encourages members of the community who are worried about criminality in their area that if they do have information, it will be treated in the strictest of confidence, we can protect them and we will bring gun-runners to justice."
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