A young gunman was today (MON) jailed for 15 years

A young gunman was today (MON) jailed for 15 years for twice shooting the hero policeman who was chasing him.

Brave Pc David Davies was blasted once in the shoulder and again in the leg by Jermaine James, 21.

Incredibly, the wounded Welshman continued to chase the youth before rugby-tackling him to the ground.

As he wrestled with James, who was still clutching the deadly pistol, a hostile crowd shouted: ‘Leave him alone.

‘

When he was arrested James claimed the gun was not real.

A jury at the Old Bailey found him guilty attempting to murder the officer and having the firearm with lethal intent.

He was sentenced to 15 years for the murder attempt and a further five years concurrent for having the .

22 revolver.

Judge Martin Stephens QC said: ‘The use of guns in the streets of London has become a plague in the city.

‘Here you actually fired at least two shots at a uniformed officer who was doing his duty in seeking to detain you.

‘

‘One shot missed vital vessels in his neck by a couple of millimetres and another lodged in his thigh and you intended to kill him.

‘It is a severe case in which a severe sentence is called for to punish you and as a deterrent to others.

‘

James was chased by officers after his car was stopped in Ladbroke Grove, west London, in May last year.

Married constable Davies, 27, heard the incident over his police radio and by chance saw the fleeing suspect emerge from an alleyway.

Giving evidence, he said: ‘I shouted at him to stop.

He turned and looked at me but carried on.

‘As he was running I could see him reach inside his jacket towards his waistband.

‘He then turned around and looked at me over his shoulder as I continued to run at him.

‘I could see in his right he was holding what appeared to be a black handgun.

‘He aimed the gun and fired the gun at me.

I saw a large flash from the gun – there was a loud bang as well.

‘I felt a tug to the top of my shoulder.

He proceeded to run and I carried on chasing him.

‘

As he gained on the suspect James spun around and fired a second shot which felt like ‘a dead leg’, said Pc Davies.

‘Again I heard a loud bang and the whole street lit up in a flash.

‘At the time, because of the adrenaline and because I was so close to him I grabbed him and we fell to the floor.

‘

As the two struggled on the pavement James fired another shot but it missed the officer.

Pc Davies had to punch the defendant several times in the face before he released the weapon.

As colleagues arrived and helped restrain the man an angry crowd of onlookers yelled at the officers to leave him alone.

Pc Davies said he was aware he had been hit by something but did not know he had a bullet in his leg.

‘If you are shot you expect to be groaning on the floor in agony,’ said the officer from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.

‘They offered me an ambulance.

I said I would see the doctor back at the police station.

‘Once I was back I realised that something had gone into me.

‘

The officer still suffers from his leg injury but has returned to his beat in Notting Hill, west London.

‘He could so easily have been killed,’ said prosecutor Simon Denison.

‘The officer was remarkably lucky.

The first shot almost miraculously went through his shirt.

The second bullet lodged in his leg.

‘

When James was arrested he was carrying a balaclava and a large quantity of cannabis.

Before he was quizzed he told one officer: ‘It does not matter, it is not a real gun.

‘

‘I shot him because I was scared and wanted to get away’.

James later claimed he was given the gun by an old friend who offered him a lift before the car was pulled over

‘The gun he said was a replica.

It wasn’t loaded,’ he said in evidence.

He denied shooting the officer and claimed he was beaten up by police officers who chased him.

‘One of the officers kicked me in the privates which led me to wet myself.

I was then sick.

‘

‘I was beaten senseless.

‘

‘I did not know there was anything in the gun to be discharged.

‘I never shot any police.

Never.

‘

James, of [27] Purley Centre, Marsh Farm, Luton, Beds, admitted having the .

22 revolver but denied the attempted murder of the officer and having the weapon with intent to kill on May 14, 2002.

ends

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