Seven men who gunned down Neil Canney on his doorstep in Greenock jailed for total of 147 years

Seven men guilty of the execution of a father on his doorstep have been jailed for a total of 147 years.

Neil Canney was shot at his home in Greenock, Inverclyde, on February 28, 2023.

The 37-year-old had gone to his front door thinking a friend was among a group standing outside.

Neil was instead shot in a hail of bullets as relatives inside cowered for safety.

The gang responsible for the assassination were caught following a major police probe.

Jack Benson, 24, Dale Russell, 31, Martin McCusker, 41, Brendan Balloch, 25, Kieran Hendry, 26, Michael Munro, 27, and Kieran Meechan, 29, were all handed life sentences at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday.

Six of them were convicted of murder and attempted murder following a trial in July.

Meechan had pled guilty to murder before the case began.

‘A brutal planned attacked’

Lady Drummond said the shooting was a “brutal attack planned in advance”.

Benson was jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

Brendan Balloch (left) and Dale Russell (right) Police Scotland

Serial criminal Russell was locked up for at least 24 years.

McCusker was handed 23 years, with Balloch, Hendry and Munro all given 21 years each.

Meechan was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years due to his guilty plea.

Prosecutors stated it was not known who had pulled the trigger – but that the assailants had all teamed up in a “criminal plan” to target Neil.

Sources said the killing occurred after one of the gang had the windows of their own home smashed by others.

Family hid behind freezer during shooting

Neil’s grieving mother had given evidence during the trial, recalling the night of her son’s death.

The 62-year-old said Neil had been staying with her at the time.

Her older son and other relatives had also been there that evening.

She had come home after a 12-hour shift working as a care assistant.

Prosecutor Alan Cameron KC asked the witness if she later became aware of “something outside”.

She said her granddaughter had noticed people in the street and said to her: “Gran, who is that?”

She then told jurors: “I looked out. There were five figures at the bottom of the stairs and one at the side of my car on a bike.”

She said Neil then came from the kitchen, also had a look and believed one of the group was a friend who lived nearby.

The witness stated: “He went to answer the door, and I sat back down.”

But, asked by Mr Cameron what then happened, she added: “A couple of seconds later there was a loud bang then another bang.”

She told how she immediately “grabbed” two children also in the house.

Jack Benson (left) and Martin McCusker (right) Police Scotland

She called on her granddaughter to “get everyone on the floor” in the kitchen, and they hid behind a freezer.

She went on: “I came out after the banging stopped. We did not know where Neil was.

“When I opened the door, he was lying on the hall floor. There was quite a lot of blood about. He was not moving, and I called the emergency services.”

She recalled her son being on his front. Despite being a first-aider, the mum admitted she had been too traumatised to turn Neil onto his back.

Another relative and a friend of Neil’s soon arrived to help. He was given CPR at the scene before emergency crews arrived.

He was rushed to hospital, but Neil’s mother recalled being told in the early hours that her son had passed away.

Neil had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

His mother had not recognised any of the assailants, who had been dressed in dark clothes.

Evidence

In his closing speech to jurors, prosecutor Mr Cameron said: “It is simply not possible, on the evidence we have, to say with any degree of certainty who fired the gun.”

The advocate depute said eight bullets had been fired into the house.

The six on trial had denied being involved, but a weight of evidence helped snared them.

This included Benson having been said to have transported Russell and McCusker in his car from Lanarkshire to take part in the shooting and then help them escape.

It was claimed he had later lied to police in a bid to cover up his involvement in cocaine dealing.

Russell was said to have boasted about what happened. There was further evidence of £40 being received for “a good turn”

A woman told the trial she had quizzed McCusker following news reports of the murder.

She had then shown him a social media clip of apparent “gunshots”.

McCusker was described as “really distressed”.

He was said to have spoken about a firearm and stated he had “held it on the way there” as “they had put it in his hand”.

Another witness recalled McCusker and Russell being in her home in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, in the early hours after the shooting.

They were said to be talking loudly, with Russell stating he would not be giving McCusker £40 as he “only stood there”.

McCusker later claimed to the woman that they had “broken into a shed”.

Gunshot residue was discovered on items of clothing of a number of the gang, including on designer jackets belonging to Munro and Hendry.

Evidence also helped pin Balloch to being involved despite claims he knew nothing of the plans for a shooting.

It was revealed after the verdicts all of those on trial – other than Hendry and Munro – had criminal records.

Russell had the worst, including a number of crimes of violence as well as robbery.

Lady Drummond said she had read emotional impact statements penned by grieving relatives of Neil, which “describe in detail their utter heartbreak at their loss”.

She said the dad had “no possible route” to escape or defend himself when confronted by the gunman.

Lady Drummond: “This was a brutal attack planned in advance

“Your actions showed utter indifference to everybody in that house.

“Use of firearms to commit murder must be deterred and penalties enforced must be appropriate to achieve that.”