Hit Channel 4 series 24 Hours in Police Custody made its return earlier this month (March 2021) and in last night’s (March 29th) episode, audiences got to learn about the case of Justice McCann, who was quite frankly the complete opposite to what many would have expected following his raft of criminal offences.
In the episode, we saw 23-year-old McCann accused of attempted murder after shooting a stranger in the chest at a local convenience store in Luton, in what has been described as a “lone gunman going on a bit of a rampage” by the detective investigating.
Here’s everything we know about McCann’s story, which you can watch for yourself via Channel 4’s streaming service, All4…
Who is Justice McCann and what is his criminal history?
From Ravenhill Way in Luton, Justice McCann was a serial user of cannabis and supplied drugs to others in the area for cash.
Claiming to have always struggled with his mental health, he had been in trouble with the law over 30 times ahead of his arrest for attempted murder, both as a juvenile and an adult. Many of the offences were in relation to petty theft and drugs; so when he was caught and charged with attempted murder, it was clear his criminality had completely evolved.
Though he had a girlfriend and children that he seemed to care about, on August 10th, 2019, McCann approached a group of men outside shops in New Town Street, pushing one of them in the chest before shooting him in the chest from around a metre away.
The 23-year-old victim called Jakub, was a Polish immigrant who had moved to the UK in the hopes of a better life. The bullet with which he was shot narrowly missed his heart, but did cause him to sustain injuries that will effect him for the rest of his life.
Police soon discovered that McCann had already been causing trouble that night, shouting obscenities at a passing vehicle and chasing it down the round, firing a shot at the person inside.
He also threw a bottle at another man on the same night, demanding he hand over his car keys and, grabbed a woman by the throat, holding a gun to her neck and asking her if she was a ‘wolverine or wolf’.
How did the police capture and prosecute McCann?
Though he had an extremely-lengthy criminal record, McCann was very sloppy when it came to concealing evidence of his wrongdoing.
Officers quickly found a discarded firearm in an alleyway nearby, which had McCann’s DNA on it. They also took DNA samples from the car in which the gentleman was threatened with a bottle and asked to hand over his keys.
Matching all of this with the CCTV footage they had of the offender, who was described perfectly by his victim, as well as the statements given by other witnesses, and they were able to nail him a lot easier than we’ve seen in past episodes.
On August 14th, 2019, McCann was arrested at an address in Luton, after a failed police raid on a flat he shared with his girlfriend. It was in that flat that police found traces of his being there, including multiple burner phones, masses of cannabis and rolls of cash.
Searching the address at which they found McCann, they also came across a second firearm which was used on the night, as well as 11 rounds of ammunition and even more cannabis.
They had their man and they were ready to charge him.
What happened in court?
In October 2019, McCann pleaded guilty to five charges. They were: attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon and, possession with intent to supply cannabis.
He also wrote a letter to the court in which he took full responsibility for his actions, noting that he had a checkered past due to his mental health struggles and whilst he was of course upset to be going to prison, he was happy that he would now receive the help he needed and had been asking for, for years.
Despite this, Judge Mark Bishop sentenced him to 22-and-a-half years, with an extended five years on licence. He also noted that McCann would not be eligible for parole until 2035 at the very earliest.
Speaking directly to McCann about the decision, the judge explained: "Because of your repeated criminality and previous convictions I believe you are dangerous, which is why you have got such a lengthy sentence.
“It was by chance and by the skill of the doctors you didn't kill the victim in this case.”
Detective Chief Inspector Aaron Kiff added: "I am pleased that this dangerous and violent individual is now behind bars.
"I hope the sentence received by McCann shows others that there are consequences for anyone who uses a weapon to either harm or threaten another person."
24 Hours in Police Custody continues Mondays at 9pm on Channel 4.
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