Trio facing lengthy jail terms after attempt to kill east London rival left target paralysed for life

Three men with links to Greenwich, who shot a rival in his own home, have been convicted of involvement in a failed attempt to kill him.

Daniel Kelly, 46, along with brothers Stewart and Louis Ahearne, 46 and 36 respectively, were found guilty of conspiracy to murder at the conclusion of a trial at the Old Bailey today.

The jury heard evidence that Kelly and the Ahearnes carried out the shooting in Woodford Green on July 11, 2019 after weeks of careful planning, including surveillance of their intended target after putting a tracking device on the car he used so they could follow his movements.

On the night of the shooting, the three travelled from their homes in South-east London to Woodford Green, using a car that had been hired two days earlier by Stewart Ahearne. Although they are now officially of no fixed address, the Met say they all have ties to the Greenwich area.

While he waited in the car which was parked in Worcester Avenue, Kelly and Louis Ahearne snuck into a garden of a house in the street which overlooked the back garden of their target’s house in Malvern Drive.

Shortly after 11pm, six shots were fired through the back doors and windows of the house in Malvern Drive, at least one of which struck their target – a man who was aged 45 at the time – who was standing in the kitchen.

Kelly and Ahearne fled back to the waiting car which drove away, leaving their victim fighting for his life.

Police and the London Ambulance Service attended. The victim was taken to hospital for emergency surgery that while saving his life would leave him permanently paralysed. Detectives secured the scene and began to piece together what had happened.

Following a forensic analysis of the victim’s house and garden area, DNA profiles were recovered from a fence of the adjoining property in Worcester Avenue where the two suspects had fired the shots from. These profiles provided matches for both Kelly and Louis Ahearne.

Bullet casings found in the garden, and bullets found inside the address that had missed their target, enabled cops to establish the firearm used was a Glock SLP handgun.

A search of Kelly’s address carried out in late August 2019 recovered a laser sight that was compatible with this weapon.

CCTV analysis of the area surrounding Malvern Drive picked up the car driven by Stewart Ahearne – this provided a vehicle registration number which detectives were able to use to confirm this was a hire car. After tracking down the venue it was hired from, the company were able to confirm Stewart Ahearne’s details as the vehicle’s hirer.

Using various techniques including ANPR and CCTV cameras, detectives pieced together the movements of the car after it was hired on July 9, 2019 in Dartford. Detectives subsequently established that the car had been used to commit a burglary at an address in Sevenoaks, Kent that same evening.

On July 10, the defendants undertook a journey tracking a car known to be used by the victim. The court heard how the defendants had fitted a tracking device to the victim’s vehicle. Using an iPad, which was subsequently thrown into the River Thames but later recovered by officers, to track the car’s movements.

Following the shooting, Stewart Ahearne returned the car to the hire company on 12 July. The car was later forensically analysed and Kelly’s fingerprints were found on two places in the vehicle.

Between October 30 2019 and January 23 2020, all three suspects were arrested. All denied their involvement but all three were charged.

Detectives continued to pursue all lines of enquiry and by piecing together the movements of Kelly and the Ahearnes an iPad used by Kelly to track the movements of the victim was recovered from the River Thames in 2024.

During the intervening period, the Met investigation team worked as part of a joint investigation with law enforcement teams from Switzerland. A burglary of the Museum of Far Eastern Arts had occurred in Geneva a month prior to this shooting with items of historical value stolen.

A Ming dynasty vase stolen in the burglary was recovered by the investigation team in London in October 2020.

Stewart and Louis Ahearne were extradited to Switzerland, they stood trial and were convicted in January 2024. Both were subsequently returned to the United Kingdom on extradition to be tried for this incident.

Detective Superintendent Matt Webb who led the investigation said: “The court heard how the defendants, hardened organised criminals, acted together in a well-planned and orchestrated manner to shoot their victim.

“It is only for the intervention of police first responder and medical professionals that the victim wasn’t killed. This attack may look like the plot to a Hollywood blockbuster but the reality is something quite different. This was horrific criminality. The court heard how this was a clear and defined attempt to take a man’s life with those responsible making significant efforts to ensure this was successful.”

The three defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to murder and were remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at the Old Bailey on a date to be confirmed.

Pictured top: Louis Ahearne purchasing drinks at a petrol station in Shooters Hill Road, en route to the shooting in July 2019 (Picture: The Met)