Leonard Naylor murder: Man jailed for driveway shooting

A man who fled to Spain following the shooting of a drug dealer more than 16 years ago has been jailed for 18 years.

Terence Barry, 44, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder Leonard Naylor at Blackfriars Crown Court on Wednesday.

Mr Naylor, 46, suffered multiple gunshot wounds when a masked man opened fire on the driveway of his home near Gravesend, Kent, in April 2001.

Officers believe Barry was recruited in January that year to help carry out the offence.

Kent Police said preparations for Mr Naylor's murder began at that time and vehicles were purchased, including two that were used in the attack.

Police said the vehicles were driven into Kent on a number of occasions during the five days before Mr Naylor was killed, and they were believed to have been either dry runs or missed opportunities.

Mr Naylor was shot four times at close range.

After the shooting, Barry, who was known as Terrence Richardson at the time, fled the country before returning to the UK in 2013, police said.

Inquiries into Mr Naylor's murder resumed when detectives learned he was back in the country, and he was arrested with other suspects.

During the trial, the court was told an incident in a London pub in 1996 had been a motive for Mr Naylor's murder five years later.

The prosecution's opening statement said: "Revenge, as they say, is 'a dish best served cold'."

The court heard Mr Naylor had been awaiting trial over drugs offences in June 1996 and had been called a "grass" by another customer, after which he attacked people in the pub with a machete.

Mr Naylor was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but no complaint was made to police, the court heard.

That September, Mr Naylor was jailed for his involvement in supplying ecstasy, and was released on 15 April 2000.

The prosecution said the exact date of the plan to murder Mr Naylor could not be identified, but it must have been in early 2001.