A killer member of the Croxteth Crew led police on a car chase at more than 120mph within weeks of being released from prison.
Liam Duffy smashed into another vehicle and brought a lamppost crashing down as the 15-minute chase came to an end. He had only recently been freed from jail, having previously been handed a 20-year stretch for manslaughter over the fatal shooting of teenager Liam Smith, of the rival Norris Green-based Strand gang - then masterminding a multi-million pound drugs racket from behind bars.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that police were on patrol in an unmarked BMW on Dunnings Bridge Road in Maghull at around midday on March 18 this year when a grey Audi stopped behind them at a set of traffic lights. Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, described how the vehicle "quickly accelerated away" onto the M57 when the lights changed.
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Officers followed the car and activated their emergency equipment. But, despite reaching speeds of 120mph on the motorway, the driver managed to pull off to a distance of around a mile away and was still gaining ground.
The Audi exited at junction six, and the PCs pulled alongside it on the slip road. Motorist Duffy then turned right onto a grass verge, ran a red light and sped off onto Valley Road in Kirkby - losing the police once again.
But the officers then found the 41-year-old had crashed into the central reservation of the dual carriageway, causing "extensive damage". Dashcam footage recorded from a passing lorry showed he had T-boned the car of an NHS worker travelling between appointments - causing it to "fly off" the road.
Duffy, of no fixed address, then collided with street furniture - bringing a lamppost down into the highway. The police approached and the defendant got out of the driver's seat and began "stumbling away".
The pursuit lasted around 15 minutes in total. Duffy has 20 previous convictions for 43 offences including driving matters in 1997, 2000 and 2004.
In 2007, he was given a 20-year sentence for manslaughter after 19-year-old Mr Smith - a high ranking figure in the Strand gang - was shot in the head and killed outside HMP Altcourse the previous year. The revenge hit came after an altercation in the Fazakerley jail's visiting hall.
After the incident, inmate and self-confessed Croxteth Crew member Ryan Lloyd was said to have stormed out on to the wing and made a series of calls using a smuggled mobile phone. Within an hour, the teen was blasted with a sawn-off shotgun from just a few yards away.
Lloyd had spoken to his friend Thomas Forshaw before a call to arms led to a convoy of vans and cars - organised by a 26-year-old Duffy, then of Polperro Close in Croxteth - making its way to the scene. Lloyd, Forshaw and a 16-year-old boy were convicted of murder, while Duffy was found guilty of manslaughter.
He looked over to the victim's family and made a gun gesture with his hand as he was led to the cells following his sentencing 15 years ago. In 2017, the by now 35-year-old was given another nine years after orchestrating a £4.6million from his cell at HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale.
Duffy used an illegally-possessed mobile phone to arrange up to 23 deliveries of drugs from Liverpool to Norwich using a network of couriers between 2013 and 2015. Before being busted by specialist detectives from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, he made so much money running the cross-country conspiracy that he was able to splash out on a luxury £50,000 car for his mates.
Julian Nutter, defending, said: "All of this begs the question why, and the question is somewhat buried within his antecedents. He is an individual who, when at large, lives in fear.
"This was an unmarked police vehicle, it was a considerable distance behind him but it was rapidly moving towards him. He didn't realise it was a police vehicle - he thought it might be other people and he lost it, he was in a state of blind panic.
"Thankfully, that serious accident that occurred did not result in injury. When he is released, he is going to want to pick his life up again."
Duffy - who appeared via video link to HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire - admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. He was jailed for 10 months, but is not due for release until December 2026 after being recalled on licence.
Sentencing, Recorder Nicola Daley said: "You have an unenviable record dating back many years. You have spent a significant portion of your adult life in custody.
"It is just a shame when you were out and when you should have been putting your life back together, you drove again in this manner and drove again without a licence. Your driving put other people's lives at risk that day.
"You are lucky nobody else was hurt. This was not as bad as it could have been, but it was a very bad piece of driving."
Duffy was also banned from driving for five years and one month and must pass an extended retest, with his licence to be endorsed. He was fined £120 and told to pay a victim surcharge.
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