Leslie Garrett’s life was marred by tragedy and trauma and he fostered an array of dark emotions locked deep inside himself for many years which came to a head during his terrifying rampage
Leslie Garrett firing an AK47 in Sangha’s off-licence(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A horrifying manhunt unfolded on the streets of Merseyside from the evening of January 3 into the morning of January 4 last year. The peaceful Wednesday evening, with families seeking refuge from post-Christmas blues at East Lancs’ Showcase Cinema, was shattered when Leslie Garrett entered its lobby.
Dressed in flip flops and a long green overcoat, hood up, Garrett was armed with an AK47 assault rifle. He had already fired shots in a newsagents before heading to a pub for a pint, flaunting his weapon to fellow patrons.
The father had been a security guard at the Showcase for many years but lost his job three months prior due to his drinking problem. Now, he was firing gunshots into the air outside as his former colleagues took cover.
Despite minor brushes with the law, Garrett’s criminal record only showed entries for minor offences. He was also barely known to mental health services.
However, by his own admission, he had harboured a range of dark emotions for many years, and that night, it all came to a head, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Leslie Garrett, 49, from Fazakerley
Garrett’s early life was marked by tragedy and trauma, having witnessed his brother being run over and a family friend being murdered in front of him while he was eating. As an adult, he suffered the loss of his infant son at just six weeks old.
However, the tipping point, as one forensic psychiatrist put it, came when another of his brothers died from diabetes. The first signs of Garrett’s struggle emerged in 2016 when he presented at A&E, overwhelmed and confessing to suicidal thoughts, feeling like he was “on autopilot”.
Fast forward five years to May 2021, he visited his GP surgery with symptoms of “low mood and PTSD symptoms”. He was prescribed antidepressants and offered therapy, but only attended one session and never took his medication.
Just a month before his rampage through the city, on December 5, 2023, Garrett called 999 saying “my time here is done”. Tragically, no action was taken.
In the autumn of the previous year, he had been living in his car after being evicted by a family member due to his self-admitted “awful” behaviour. In October, he lost his job at the Showcase Cinema.
It was later revealed in court that this was due to “complaints about his behaviour towards other members of staff”, although he claimed it was because he was drunk.
Leslie Garrett firing an AK47 in Sangha’s off-licence(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Around the same time, he was allegedly approached by two blokes who offered him £300 to look after a bag, without telling him what was inside. When nosiness got the better of him and he had a gander inside a week later, he found an old-school Czech-made military “AK47-style rifle” from 1964 and over 300 rounds.
Garrett was a chap with a keen interest in firearms, having been into hunting in his youth and spending time watching gun videos on YouTube. On January 3, Garrett had a row with his partner and started hitting the rum at about 1pm.
In the next day, he guzzled a bottle-and-a-half which led up to the moment he rocked up at Sangha’s off-licence in Norris Green. Amandeep Singh was minding the shop solo that night and was behind the counter when Garrett barged in at about 7.30pm.
The CCTV footage, which was later shown to the media, captured Garrett demanding “come on, money”, then whipping out the rifle and firing a shot into the plastic screen at the till. Mr Singh, who first thought it was a daft prank, ran to the stock room terrified, while Garrett escaped without stealing anything.
He jumped into his Ford Focus and headed to the Western Approaches pub, where he ordered a drink and struck up conversation with punters at the bar. He later took two of them outside to peek inside his car boot.
They recoiled in horror at what they saw. Garrett flashed the gun at them before hopping back into his motor and zooming off towards the Showcase Cinema.
Police at the Showcase Cinema on East Lancashire Lane in Liverpool (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Arriving just after 8.45pm, he encountered Danielle Mea working the ticket counter and Philip Smith on security duty. They both thought it was a joke when faced with the unfolding drama.
The guard, believing the weapon was fake, confronted the gunman who had aimed the rifle at his colleague, quipping: “Drop the peashooter and don’t point it at her.”
Hooded Garrett, unrecognised by the staff, beckoned Mr Smith with a “come see” and motioned him towards the car park. He aimed the gun at Mr Smith, then fired off to the side.
Mr Smith yelled to Ms Mea, “get down, get out”. Garrett blasted the gun again into the sky and kept firing as he exited the building, leaving behind 12 bullet casings.
The cinema went into lockdown, leaving film fans shocked as armed police descended on the scene.
Garrett hastily left and headed to a Go Local store, this time leaving the rifle in the car. He grabbed two bottles of vodka on credit before exiting without causing a scene.
He then visited his mum’s home in Ternhall Road, Fazakerley, before heading to his partner Jennifer Forshaw’s home in Malpas Road, Croxteth, around 10pm. It was here that Garrett discharged the firearm for the third time, with one local reporting her children were startled awake by the loud bangs.
The terrified mum rang the police and was advised to lock her doors and turn off her lights. By the time the police arrived, Garrett had fled.
Police on Malpas Road
Ms Forshaw informed them her partner had fired the gun into the night sky without provocation, having kept the weapon hidden at her residence. The police discovered it there, along with a massive stash of ammunition under her mattress.
Meanwhile, Garrett returned to his mum’s house. Just after 4.30am, a squad of 16 firearms officers, two negotiators and a dog handler descended in bulletproof Land Rovers.
His mum answered the door and was ordered to leave at gunpoint. Garrett then appeared, “agitated and aggressive”, clad only in a blue T-shirt and his boxers.
When told to surrender, he simply retorted: “F*** off d***head.”
He was subsequently tasered to prevent him from arming himself or barricading himself inside the property. He collapsed to the floor and, some nine hours after it started, his shocking crime spree came to a halt.
Once caught by the police, Garrett kept his lips sealed during questioning. But when he rocked up at Liverpool Crown Court the next month, he coughed to all eight charges.
By sentencing time, he spun a tale about only doing it because he reckoned the police would end him in a shoot-out. This story led to a “trial of issue” – that’s when a judge has to work out what really went down for the sentencing.
Police at Sangha’s on Lower House Lane in Liverpool(Image: Liverpool Echo)
At this point, two psychiatrists were asked whether Garrett was playing a deadly game of “suicide by cop”. The defence’s doctor, Dr Inti Qurashi, laid it out: “It seems to me, he’s going from place to place to place – I think he’s escalating. It may have been partially financial, it may have been a grievance. But he wouldn’t have taken a gun, in my view, and fired it recklessly if he hadn’t been severely depressed.”
“He’d lost all hope. He didn’t feel like living. He hasn’t done this before. It seems grossly disproportionate to what he’s previously been convicted for. Essentially he can’t commit suicide by his own hands because that’s a step too far for him, but he wants to kill himself. I can get the cops to do it for me.”
In court, Dr Prakash Raviraj, the prosecution’s psychiatrist, challenged the idea of “suicide by cop” and commented to the jury: “I would not agree that he was severely depressed. Moderate depression along with drinking was what I suggest was happening. It was almost bordering on dependence.”
The convicted, Garrett, took the stand in the two-day trial as well, expressing to the courtroom how the series of events in his life had essentially “killed him”. On his feelings towards Showcase Cinema after losing his job, he told the court: “Not angry towards them, just frustrated – frustrated at myself.”
Confronted with the concept of a “motivation of suicide by cop”, he shared: “That’s how I was feeling. I’d had enough of everything. I don’t think my intentions would have been to hurt someone. Obviously, at that time, I didn’t know what my intentions were.”
Just before reaching 50, Garrett faced sentencing of a 14-year term in prison with an added four years on licence.
Handing down judgment, Judge David Aubrey described Garrett’s actions as a “campaign of terror and fear and causing mayhem, during which many lives were potentially put at risk”.
Leslie Garrett faced sentencing of a 14-year term in prison with an added four years on licence.(Image: Merseyside Police)
He declared: “Whilst the court accepts that you have been subject to childhood trauma and have experienced difficulties with your mental health, in my judgment those factors were not the motivation in the commission of these offences. Anger, alcohol and resentment are constant themes and I am satisfied they were the catalysts for that which you did.”
He continued, “I am satisfied that you were not seeking to place yourself in a position where trained police officers would have had no alternative but to take drastic and fatal action. You had every opportunity so to do and I am satisfied that, notwithstanding any disorder which I have found, you had no suicidal intent on the night of the offences.”
He concluded, “I am satisfied you knew precisely what you were doing, demanding money from the shop owner whilst holding and discharging a firearm. You appeared to enjoy showing that firearm to customers at the public house. You felt powerful and in control that night. I am satisfied that these offences were borne out of anger, alcohol, and resentment.”