Man jailed after faking timesheets to help cover the tracks of a man involved in a shooting

8 October 2019, 17:43

Mark Lamb
Mark Lamb. Picture: Greater Manchester Police
EJ Ward

By EJ Ward

A man has been jailed after forging a timesheet to give a fake alibi to a man suspected of taking part in a shooting.

Mark Lamb, 48, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

In 2015 a man was standing outside a carwash in Manchester when an unknown gunman began shooting at him from across main road.

The man was able to run away, but not before being shot three times in the abdomen, wrist and groin.

The court heard an investigation by Greater Manchester Police found a man named John Kent had driven by the location in his Peugeot van repeatedly before the shooting took place in order to carry out surveillance on the victim.

Police said Kent then met with the gunman and another associate, Jacob Harrison, who had travelled to the area together in a stolen Seat Ibiza. Kent and the two other men then drove to the scene in convoy before fleeing the scene together after the shooting.

Detectives spoke to Mark Lamb who ran an asbestos removal business and employed Kent.

After being questioned by police about why his employee had been seen in his work van close to the scene of the shooting, Lamb produced false timesheets and documents in an attempt to provide a fake alibi.

Despite the false documents, Kent was jailed on 12 April 2019 for 14 years and six months after being found guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Detective Chief Inspector Carl Jones, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “Mark Lamb lied in an attempt to cover the tracks of John Kent, who has since been convicted of playing a key role in the shooting of a man outside a carwash.

“Lamb’s attempts to mislead the police so that Kent could walk away with no consequences were utterly brazen as he went to the lengths of forging documents to seemingly make what he was saying credible.

“Kent would later go on to attempt to deceive his way through his trial but the jury saw straight through that, so it is fitting that Mark Lamb has now been brought to justice for his own web of lies.”