Alleged pub shooting gunman tells jury he has ‘changed’

A man accused of shooting a woman outside a pub told a jury he had “changed” since earlier offending, but admitted dealing drugs, carrying out a burglary and driving a stolen car.

Connor Chapman, 23, who is accused of killing Elle Edwards, 26, when he allegedly opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, Merseyside, on December 24 last year, began giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.

Mark Rhind KC, defending, read out a list of his previous convictions, which included burglary, possession of a knife, possession of drugs, aggravated vehicle-taking and breaches of an anti-social behaviour order.

Mr Rhind said Chapman’s description of his past behaviour as “not the best” was “perhaps an understated way of describing that record”.

But the father-of-two said his behaviour had changed by the end of 2022, after he spent the previous four Christmases in custody.

He told the court: “I’d definitely calmed down.

“There’s everything to suggest I haven’t, but from the way I was acting in the past, yes, definitely.”

He said “everything” had changed when he was released from custody in June or July last year.

He said: “I had my daughter while I was in custody. It had a big effect on me so I wanted to change the way I was living, because I knew I didn’t want to go back to custody.

“I’d done enough time in custody for just general petty crimes, so I got out and tried to sort my life out and it just didn’t go the way I planned.”

Chapman, wearing his long hair in a bun, said he got a job but when it “didn’t work out” he went back to doing what he “knew best”, and began selling cocaine, making about £400 a week.

He admitted taking part in a burglary in November 2022, which the prosecution alleges is one of the events which led up to Ms Edwards’ murder – said to be the culmination of a feud between gangs on the Woodchurch and Beechwood estates.

Curtis Byrne, who was also involved in the burglary, was shot five days later, the court has heard.

Chapman said the shooting of Mr Byrne had “nothing to do” with the burglary and told the court he had not felt angry about his friend being shot.

He was asked about an assault on December 23, which was carried out on Sam Searson by Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld, who are alleged to be the intended targets of the Lighthouse shooting.

He said he was not friends with Mr Searson and was the “opposite to upset” about the attack.

“If you want me to be completely honest, I did think it was quite amusing,” he said.

He told the court his mother was friends with Mr Duffy’s mother and they had grown up together.

Chapman denied being part of an organised crime group and told the jury: “I wouldn’t really say there is a gang on the Woodchurch, it’s just more people who hang round on the Woodchurch itself.”

He admitted he had been driving the stolen Mercedes used by the gunman since about November.

But he said it was a “pool car” and was used by at least three other people.

Chapman is charged with the murder of Ms Edwards, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

On Tuesday, a third count of wounding with intent was amended to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm.

He is also charged with possession of a Skorpion sub-machine gun with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life.

He denies all the offences.

Co-defendant Thomas Waring, 20, of Private Drive, Barnston, Wirral, denies possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping Chapman to dispose of the car.

The trial will continue on Wednesday.