A “dangerous” man who tried intimidating his ex-girlfriend by firing a gun outside a busy north-west London pub on New Year’s Eve has been jailed.
Cardell Thompson, 26, arrived at a pub in Chamberlyne Road, Kensal Green, around 9.30pm on December 31, 2021.
Throughout the night he repeatedly tried speaking to a former girlfriend, who was not interested in engaging with him.
Thompson became increasingly agitated, and eventually shouted that he was going to get a gun and return to the venue.
Around 30 minutes into the new year, he returned to the pub brandishing a handgun, and shouting threats to his former girlfriend.
He fired the weapon into the air outside the pub and then attempted to fire it again, but failed.
Thompson tried to get inside the pub but was pushed back by staff. He then fled the scene on foot, throwing the gun into a nearby garden.
He returned to the pub a short time later, by which time police had arrived and he was arrested.
The gun was recovered and Thompson’s DNA was found on it. A search of his home by officers uncovered quantities of cocaine and ketamine, packaged for sale, along with a phone which provided further evidence of drug dealing.
Thompson, who lives near the pub in Clifford Gardens, Kensal Green, was charged with firearms and drugs offences on January 2 last year.
At Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, he was jailed for a total of 13 years.
He had pleaded guilty to discharging the firearm at an earlier hearing.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb, a Trident detective from the Met’s Specialist Crime, said: “It is only by good fortune that Cardell Thompson was unable to discharge this firearm more than once, preventing significant injury or worse from occurring.
“This sentencing reflects the dangerous nature of Thompson and the gravity of the offences he committed. Thanks to the joined up work of Prosecuting Counsel and the Crown Prosecution Service, together with Trident detectives, this matter has progressed successfully through the courts and a dangerous man is now behind bars.”
