Trio sentenced after two homes are shot at on Sheffield estate

On the evening of Tuesday, June 30, 2020, police received calls from members of the public reporting that bullets had been fired through the windows of a property on Errington Avenue, Arbourthorne.

Just a minute later, officers received a second call – this time from nearby Aylward Road – where again, bullets had been fired through a living room window.

Joshua Mottershead, Demi Dunford and Molly Mayer all appeared before Sheffield Crown Court last Friday to be sentenced for the roles they played in the night of disorder.

Mottershead, 21 of St Aiden’s Avenue, Norfolk Park, was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He admitted firing the gun but claimed he had only intended to cause fear.

During a trial he was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder.

Demi Dunford was sentenced on Friday over her part in a pre-arranged plan to torch the vehicle used kicked in the drive-by shootings.

Dunford, 25, of Derby Street, Heeley, was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. She also received an extra eight months for possession of 32 wraps of Class A drugs.

But because of the amount of time she had already spent behind bars since the offences were committed, she walked free from court.

Molly Mayer, 23 of Callow Drive, Gleadless Valley, was given an 18 month custodial sentence after also admitting perverting the course of justice.

She too walked free because of the amount of time already spent in custody.

Detective Superintendent Paul Murphy, head of South Yorkshire Police’s armed crime team, said: “Incidents like these are not acceptable. People were left in fear of their life by what happened and it caused real unrest in the local community. It was miraculous that nobody was injured.

“We are taking robust action to tackle organised crime across South Yorkshire and hitting the root cause, such as the supply of drugs, hard.”