A former inmate has been discovered responsible of murdering a jail officer in a revenge killing, 4 years after saying “I promise I will get you.”
Elias Morgan, 35, deliberate and carried out the taking pictures of Lenny Scott, a former HMP Altcourse jail officer who had found Morgan’s illicit cell phone hidden behind bars in his cell.
Scott was shot six instances on 8 February 2024 in an “act of retaliation” after leaving a fitness center in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, 4 years after the row with Morgan in March 2020 over the cell phone, which uncovered the inmate’s affair with a feminine jail guard.
Morgan supplied Scott £1,500 to do away with the telephone and when that didn’t succeed, Preston crown courtroom heard, he turned to threats, warning him: “I’ll bide my time but I promise I will get you.” Morgan additionally made a gun gesture along with his fingers.
4 years later, he shot the daddy of three, who had since left the Jail Service, six instances in his head and physique earlier than fleeing the scene on an electrical bike.
Proof introduced by the prosecution confirmed that Morgan scouted out locations he believed the sufferer may very well be in Merseyside, the place they each lived, and in Lancashire as he deliberate the “cold-blooded” homicide upon leaving jail after finishing his sentence for medicine offences.
Morgan was because of stand trial for possessing the telephone 11 days after the taking pictures.
In 2020, within the aftermath of the altercation over the telephone, Scott had reported a number of threats from Morgan to the police.
Jurors had been performed a recording of a 101 name from the jail officer who mentioned he was frightened about his household when Morgan had described his house, his accomplice and his kids “to a T”.
He advised the operator: “He said he’s got lads everywhere, he’s described my vehicle and he’s described my house and what my girlfriend and twin boys look like.”
Scott mentioned he had been threatened up to now however these threats had been, because the operator urged, “too close to home”.
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Wendy Logan, the deputy head of the Crown Prosecution Service north west advanced casework unit, mentioned: “Lenny Scott was a devoted father who had bravely upheld his duty when working as a prison officer by reporting an illicit phone he found in Elias Morgan’s cell in 2020. He did so in the face of attempts at bribery and also threats and intimidation by Morgan, and his commitment to public service will not be forgotten.
“Morgan – driven by revenge and believing he was above the law – carried out a cold-blooded murder. We were determined to deliver justice and see Morgan brought to book for his evil crime, and our case set out in clear terms how he planned and carried out his callous act.
“Our thoughts remain with Lenny’s family – particularly his three young children – and all those who cared for him, as they deal with his loss.”
A second defendant, Anthony Cleary, was cleared of fees in relation to the homicide.
Morgan might be sentenced on 2 September.
