The errand boy of a gangster who controlled Britain's most-fired gun clapped and cheered when jailed today.
Lee Tierney was described as the "gofer" of James Lunt, the leader of an armed drugs gang known as WAVO 420.
Lunt's crew were brought down after a man was shot 11 times in an underworld hit on a busy Liverpool street in 2017.
Mark Gaskill only survived because he was wearing a motorbike helmet, which stopped bullets entering his head.
Associates of Lunt carried out the shooting in Wavertree, as children left a nearby primary school, on May 19 that year.
Lunt, 29, of Celendine Close, Wavertree, and more than a dozen others, were jailed for a total of 119 years in September.
Inside the Wavo 420 drugs gang and the 22 shooting linked to their guns
Today, it was the turn of Tierney, 22, now of Juliet Avenue, Bebington, Wirral, to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court.
He mouthed "rats" at police officers sitting in court when he entered the dock, then grinned and bounced up and down.
Tierney admitted conspiracies to possess firearms with intent to endanger life, to possess ammunition, and to supply cannabis.
He also admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply, during a trial involving other members of the gang last August.
The gang's arsenal of weapons included a Beretta - the most-fired gun in the UK - used in 17 shootings in Merseyside alone.
They also had access to an Uzi submachine gun, which could unleash 600 rounds a minute, and sawn-off shotguns.
Nigel Power, QC, prosecuting, described Tierney as the "right-hand man" of Lunt, which was disputed by defence lawyers.
Richard Vardon, defending, said he had been a "gofer" and street dealer, estranged from his family, living "hand to mouth".
The court heard Lunt was never the man to pull the trigger, including when Gaskill was shot with the Beretta in Stevenson Street.
But prosecutors argued mobile phone records and DNA evidence proved his associates were behind the mid-afternoon attack.
A judge said it was unlikely the hit took place without Lunt's knowledge, but the decision to shoot Gaskill couldn't be attributed to him.
Swabs taken from the handlebars of two bikes left at the scene revealed DNA said to match Tierney and a man called Alan E'Von.
At the first of two trials, prosecutors alleged Tierney was involved in the shooting and that this was his DNA.
However, further analysis found the evidence against Tierney was "negligible" and prosecutors no longer assert he took part.
They also accepted Tierney wasn't involved in the subsequent transfer of the Beretta to a Kirkby crook called Adam Bigley.
Armed police raided Bigley's home after undercover teams watched him meet Lunt - surrounded by children - in Picton Playground.
Tierney was also at the playground summit and Mr Power argued this made it likely he knew about the Beretta and its transfer.
Mr Vardon said his client "vigorously" denied knowing about any conspiracy involving the Beretta, or it being transferred.
That meant a Newton Hearing - a form of mini-trial where a judge establishes disputed facts of a case - had to be held.
Tierney chose not to give evidence and Judge Rachel Smith ruled "the only sensible conclusion" was he had known.
Tierney yawned as she outlined the case, pausing to wink and gurn at police, then smile at members of his family.
On September 19, 2017, police searched Sandown Park - near Celendine Close - and dug up 13 shotgun cartridges.
Possession of these cartridges was not an offence, but they showed Tierney's DNA, which prosecutors said was "significant".
The stash was buried near a tree, where they later discovered a sawn-off Browning Cynergy shotgun and more cartridges.
The following month, police swooped at a house in Nickleby Close, Toxteth, but Lunt and Tierney fled and escaped.
In the loft, police found the Uzi submachine gun, linked to shootings across Merseyside, controlled by Lunt.
On December 20 that year, police raided the Lemon Close, Wavertree home of Shabba Odita, unearthing guns and drugs.
The haul included another sawn-off shotgun, which prosecutors said Tierney arranged to be stored at the drug dealer's property.
Tierney was arrested at a house in Mill Lane, Wavertree on November 15, 2018, after he arrived on a bike, carrying a rucksack.
He hid in the loft and broke his phone into pieces before coming down with the rucksack, which contained £1,000 of cannabis.
Mr Power said Tierney sold cannabis for Lunt, went with him to collect the Uzi, and had control of the shotgun at Odita's house.
Tierney was handed an ASBO for his part in WAVO 420, when it was simply a street gang made up of local teens, in 2013.
He plagued the area - repeatedly breaching the order - and in 2015 was convicted of being concerned in producing cannabis.
Judge Smith said it wasn't necessary for her to rule whether or not he was Lunt's "right-hand man", but he was a close associate.
She said he was trusted with moving and storing guns, knew what the gang were doing, and was a willing conspirator.
Judge Smith said: "Your role was to assist James Lunt as and when called on to do so."
Tierney has already served more than a year in prison on remand in custody.
Judge Smith jailed him for 11 years and three months, meaning he will likely be released in four years' time.
A young woman sitting in the public gallery burst into tears, but Tierney rubbed his hands together, beat his chest and clapped.
He shouted "thank you very much" to the judge, then "love you, see you soon" to his family, before yelling: "Yerse!"
