A former gang leader who amassed a cult following on social media since being released from prison carried on recording as he was attacked by a man with a hammer.
Darren Gee, 42, a former member of a notorious drug-dealing crew which caused misery in Everton's Grizedale estate, was jailed in 2006 for ordering the murder of 36-year-old David Regan, shot dead outside an Old Swan car wash in May, 2004. He later admitted he mistakenly believed Mr Regan had ordered a bungled hit on Gee carried out by former SAS soldier Darren Waterhouse, which killed his friend, Craig Barker, and wounded his brother, Ian Gee.
However it later emerged Waterhouse had been hired by drug dealer William Moore. Gee served 18 years for conspiring to commit Mr Regan's murder, and has said he accepts he 'wasted his life' and bitterly regrets the decisions he made when he was involved in serious crime.
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Since his release, he has gained a following on Youtube, TikTok and Instagram, the latter platform which has 48,000 followers watching his sometimes serious, sometimes tongue-in-cheek videos often warning others not to get involved in drugs or gang crime.
On Sunday, September 11, Gee uploaded a series of videos taken in Birmingham city centre, showing him arguing with a man and woman who appeared to mistakenly believe Gee was filming them as he recorded a livestream on his phone. The couple emerged from a boat moored in a canal behind where Gee was standing.
The video, which has been widely shared on social media, shows the man on the boat begin shouting up at Gee, who is on a footbridge over the canal, as Gee recorded his livestream. The conversation seemed to be civil until the man's partner shouted "what the f*** are you filming for you weirdo?".
Gee protested that he was filming before her partner emerged and said: "Don't call me a weirdo, you're living on a boat with your fella giving me s***"." The discussion then descended into anarchy as the woman was recorded saying "f*** off you northern monkey", followed by her partner saying "Do you want me to come up there and put you into the canal?".
Gee replies: "Do you want me to come down there so you can try?". The man then steps off the boat with a hammer in one hand, prompting Gee to shout "put the hammer down d***head".
The couple eventually return to the boat after a number of heated exchanges, where Gee suggests the man should "come out for a fair fight, f***k your weapons". When the man refuses to get off the boat Gee repeats "choose a life not a knife" and slams the door of the boat shut.
What happens next is unclear, but further footage was also uploaded showing Gee speaking to the camera on Broad Street, Birmingham, while in the background the man seen earlier on the boat was being led to a patrol car in handcuffs by officers from West Midlands Police.
Gee says: "What's happening people, you might have just seen the commotion that was happening there on TikTok. I don't know why it came, some lad's girlfriend got him very unhappy. The lad's jumped out of his boat with a hammer, started thinking he was mad.
"As you can see here, the police turned up in numbers, asked me to co-operate with them, make a statement towards this individual. I haven't done that, but as you can see here, he's been arrested. What I was saying to him before he got arrested, was choose a life not a knife, he didn't listen to me and now he has been arrested."
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police confirmed a 29-year-old man had been arrested and later released while investigations into the incident continue.
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