Murder is always a senseless, horrific act. And there was nothing more senseless than the murder of Gerry Tobin.
Gerry was a 35 year old mechanic living in London. Originally born in the UK, his family immigrated to Canada when Gerry was a young child. He returned to the UK in the 1990s to live and work with his fiancée. Gentleman Gerry Tobin was a mechanic at his local Harley-Davidson dealership. He was also a member of the UK faction of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club.
In August of 2007, Gerry, along with many other bikers, attended the Bulldog Bash, which poured in profits of well over a million pounds for the HAMC. The Bash was held in Long Marston, Warwickshire. Everything went off without a hitch – the Bash was a success, and everyone enjoyed a 4-day weekend of fun and celebration. Devastation hit on Sunday, August 12th.
Gerry was leading a three bike convoy out of the Bash grounds when he needed to make a quick stop for petrol in Stratford. He then took the A46 to the M40 in order to get back home to South London. Pawel Lec, a Hell’s Angels wannabe member, was at the rear. He witnessed the entire altercation take place.
Lec noticed a green SUV in his mirror coming up fast. He changed lanes to allow the vehicle to pass, signalling for the two bikes in front of him to do the same. In the middle lane, Lec noticed the green SUV speed up and pull up alongside Gerry at the front of the convoy, matching his speed. Suddenly, an arm with a gun popped out of the passenger side window. Shots were fired. Gerry fell. One of the bullets skimmed the base of his helmet, killing him instantly.
Detective Superintendent Ken Lawrence was assigned the case, and he immediately knew there would be several problems moving forward. First, he had to secure the scene – which was a large, multi-lane motorway. Once he managed to seal off the road – and trapping traffic – his investigation could kick off. Gerry was airlifted to hospital, the bullets were recovered, and witnesses were interviewed. But therein lay the second problem.
Motorcycle clubs often have codes of silence, and the Hell’s Angels are no different. Though he’d seen the entire thing transpire, Pawel Lec didn’t want to say anything. Neither did the other person in their convoy. Lec especially didn’t want to do anything to hurt his chances of joining the HAMC. Investigators worked around the code as best they could, following up on other clues as they came in.
Thankfully, after figuring out that Gerry had stopped for petrol, investigators were able to ask for any surveillance that the station may have captured. They found CCTV footage of Gerry leaving the station, and got a clear shot of the SUV, as well as who was in the front seats of the green vehicle.
Later, investigators were able to put more and more pieces together. A call came in stating that a vehicle matching the description of the SUV was found burnt out in a back-street in Coventry. The blaze was a clear attempt to thwart investigators from finding any forensic ties to whomever had been in the vehicle. However, enough evidence remained that led right to the vehicle’s owner – Sean Creighton (44).
Creighton and his accomplices had been the ones in the CCTV footage investigators had taken as evidence from the petrol station. Creighton, it turned out, was the “sergeant-at-arms” for a rival motorcycle club, The Outlaws. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
The senseless gunning down of Gentleman Gerry was just another incident in a long-standing feud between the Hell’s Angels and The Outlaws. This time, rage swept through The Outlaws because of the Biker Bash. They didn’t like the enemy infiltrating on what they considered to be their territory.
Investigators discovered that the plan had been in place for months. It didn’t matter who was shot, as long as the message was clear – stay out of our territory.
Police raided Creighton’s home, finding a makeshift shooting range on the property, presumably so he could practice for the actual event. On the last day of the Bash, Creighton and his associates waited and watched, carefully choosing their victim at random. Dane Garside (42) was driving the SUV, with Creighton riding passenger acting as the triggerman. Garside pulled up, matched Gerry’s speed, and two gunmen opened fire – Creighton, and a backseat passenger, Simon Turner (41).
In a white Range Rover, providing backup, were Dean Taylor (47), Karl Garside (45 – brother of Dane), and Ian Cameron (46). Watching and patrolling in a third vehicle was Malcolm Bull (53). “While the hit was professional, the planning and cover-up were amateurish.” The three vehicles went their separate ways, and Creighton set his green SUV on fire. It was the not-so-coincidental vehicle fire that led investigators right to The Outlaws, in the end.
After the arrests of all parties involved, a trial was held at Birmingham Crown Court. The case against the men was hit with two swift, and unexpected, breakthroughs – “Bull spoke to them, breaking of the club’s rules, and Creighton, faced with strong evidence against him, decided to plead guilty.” The others maintained their innocence to the very end.
After a 9-week trial, each member of the kill crew were convicted of murder and related firearms offences. The sentences proceed as follows:
– Sean Creighton: Minimum of 28 years and 6 months
– Simon Turner: 30 years
– Malcolm Bull: 25 years
– Dane Garside: 27 years
– Dean Taylor: 30 years
– Karl Garside: 26 years
– Ian Cameron: 25 years.
In his closing arguments, QC prosecutor Timothy Ragatt said it best: “This wasn’t a case of a man being killed for any personal motive or any personal reason. This was a man who was targeted not because of who he was, but because of what he was. In one sense, Gerry Tobin was a random victim.”
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Sources:
The Mammoth Book of Bizarre Crimes – Robin Odell
Life for seven motorway killers of biker Gerry Tobin – The Guardian
An Utterly Pointless Murder – UK True Crime blog and podcast