THREE people have been jailed for a total of 56 years for the murder of a 17-year-old boy following a row over a £180 drug debt.
Callum Riley was stabbed following a confrontation with Tony Adams, Dale Heywood and Niall Conaghan in Heywood, Greater Manchester on September 17, 2022.
At Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday, 35-year-old Adams, of Minshull New Road, Crewe was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 24 years.
He had earlier been convicted of murder and section 18 assault and pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and criminal damage.
Heywood, 26, of Windermere Road, Middleton was convicted of murder, section 18 assault, possession of an offensive weapon and criminal damage.
He was also jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 24 years.
Conaghan, 18, of Minshull New Road, Crewe was convicted of murder, section 18 assault and criminal damage and pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon.
He was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of eight years.
“Tony Adams, Dale Heywood and Niall Conaghan robbed a teenager of his life and future when they committed this senseless and violent crime over a £180 cannabis debt,” said Detective Sergeant Adam Hitchen of Greater Manchester Police.
Threats and intimidation
An investigation revealed that Adams had been seeking to recover a drug debt from Callum for a number of months.
In early 2022, he and four other men had forced their way into Callum’s house where he lived with his mother and brother.
Callum was not home at the time but the five men threatened his family in an attempt to intimidate him and enforce the debt.
Matters came to a head on September 16, 2022 when Adams made threats to another of Callum’s friends after allegedly hearing rumours the friend was going to ‘grass’ about the location of his stash of drugs.
Following this, Adams gathered a group of men and went to Callum’s house where they smashed the front windows with a baseball bat.
Callum was not at home at the time, although his mother, who is suffering from a serious illness, discovered the damage.
Callum was told of the damage and went to Adams’ house with a friend to confront him about the damage he had caused.
Adams, Heywood and Conaghan had armed themselves with weapons including a baseball bat and a knife and were lying in wait for the pair, launching an attack within seconds of them entering the garden.
The pair managed to run from the address and were chased up Atholl Drive, however, Callum only made it a short distance before succumbing to his injuries.
He was found unresponsive later that morning in a garden by members of the public with a deep stab wound to his leg.
His friend was also found seriously injured with a stab wound to his stomach but survived after receiving emergency medical treatment.
‘Expectation of violence’
“Firstly, I want to be clear that this was not a case of self-defence,” said Detective Inspector Louise Edwards.
“Tony Adams set in motion a chain of violent events where he planned and welcomed a confrontation with a teenager.
“Adams, Dale Heywood and Niall Conaghan were armed with weapons including a knife and a baseball bat in the expectation of violence they had planned for and hoped would start.
“They created a situation in which Callum would come to Atholl Drive, armed themselves and opened the door rather than calling the police.
“Those violent actions have devastated so many lives. The family and friends of Callum have had to face the loss of a loved one in such terrible circumstances.
“My thoughts are with them today and whilst the sentences imposed can never undo what has been done, I hope it will bring them some form of closure.”