Liverpool gangland enforcer charged £10k to blind victim

Jonathan Gordon was a member of the so-called Deli Mob crime gang in Liverpool

A gangland enforcer who threw acid in a man's face and plotted to blind others under the orders of an underworld crime boss has been jailed for life.

Jonathan Gordon, 34, of Liverpool, charged £6,000 to carry out an acid attack and £10,000 to blind a victim.

One victim suffered "an unimaginable physical and mental ordeal", detectives said.

Gordon, 34, was told he must serve a minimum of 24 years and eight months at Liverpool Crown Court.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Gordon had been waiting for a man to leave his home in St Helens, Merseyside, on 14 April, 2019, before carrying out the acid attack.

The victim, who was temporarily blinded, was later able to pick out Gordon in an identity parade.

In a statement to the court, he told how he had been "left in a world of darkness, depression and dependency" and worried he would forget his children's faces.

"I thought about the fact they would age and their faces would change, but I would only ever know them as children," he added.

During the investigation, it transpired Gordon had been using the secret communications system EncroChat, which was later infiltrated by detectives.

Detectives uncovered images of guns, which were shared on EncroChat

Previously encrypted messages showed Gordon, who was a member of the so-called Deli Mob crime gang in Liverpool, was taking instructions from an unidentified crime boss.

He had planned a further attack in Blackpool but this was thwarted due to fears they would be spotted by police during the coronavirus lockdown.

Then a third attack was planned for 6 April, 2020, in Warrington, Cheshire.

Gordon and accomplices Dylan Johnston, 27, and Stephen Wissett, 28, drove a stolen Ford Fiesta to Birtles Road and planned to throw acid on a man who lived at the home.

But the attack was abandoned after they spotted CCTV on the property.

The men made further attempts to carry out the attack but it was thwarted as police investigated.

Stephen Wissett and Dylan Johnston were both jailed for their involvement

EncroChat messages also showed Gordon had been involved in a street gunfight on two occasions in Liverpool in 2020, with one of the shots hitting the window of an elderly couple's house.

The NCA said Gordon had also been involved in a plot to shoot a property in Warrington on 20 March, 2020.

Ben Rutter, NCA operations manager, said Gordon was "a terrifyingly dangerous offender" who was "totally unconcerned about blinding someone for money".

The three men sentenced earlier:

• Jonathan Gordon, 34, formerly of Liverpool, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, and one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life

• Stephen Anthony Wissett, 28, formerly of Ellesmere Port, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 12 years and six months

• Dylan Johnston, 27, also formerly of Ellesmere Port, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and was jailed for 18 years

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]