Lenny Scott was shot six times as he left the gym in response to finding a phone in jail which revealed that a prisoner was having inappropriate relations with a female officer
A man has been found guilty of shooting a gym-goer just as they left the building. The victim had found a phone which exposed an inappropriate relationship between an inmate and a female prison officer, a court heard.
Lenny Scott was shot six times as he left the gym on Peel Road in Skelmersdale, Lancashire in February 2024. It came after Lenny, who had been working as a prison officer at HMP Altcourse, had reported the phone seized from an inmate in the jail.
Prosecutors found that 35-year-old Elias Morgan had organised and carried out the shooting, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. They argued that Morgan had been pushed to carry out the killing in an act of revenge for Lenny’s exposure of the phone
The initial incident took place in 2020, when Lenny was working at the prison. Morgan had been serving time in prison at the time, when Lenny discovered the phone on March 26, 2020.
While the phone was seized, a video of Elias Morgan having an illicit relationship with a female prison officer was found, with Elias pleading with Lenny not to bring the phone to the attention of authorities. He even went as far as to offer the prison guard £1,500 in order to ditch the phone.
However, Lenny stuck to his guns and opted to show the phone to his superiors, with Elias resorting to threats, warning Lenny that he would “bide his time, but that he would get him”. Four years later, as Lenny left his gym, he was shot six times in the head and body by Elias, as he fled the scene on an electric bike.
Elias was eventually found and detained on February 22, and refused to cooperate with police, giving no comment in response to officers during his interview. He was then charged with murder and brought to court, where he pleaded not guilty to Lenny’s killing.
Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, Elias was formally found guilty on Friday (August 29) of killing Lenny. Sentencing is now set to take place next Tuesday (September 2).
Speaking on the ruling, Wendy Logan, Deputy Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Complex Casework Unit welcomed the decision to convict Elias. She explained: “Lenny Scott was a devoted father who had bravely upheld his duty when working as a prison officer, by reporting an illicit phone he found in Elias Morgan’s cell in 2020.
“He did so in the face of attempts at bribery and also threats and intimidation by Morgan – and his commitment to public service will not be forgotten,” she added. “Morgan – driven by revenge and believing he was above the law – carried out a cold-blooded murder.”
Logan went on to say that the service were continuing to fight for justice in honour of Lenny and his family, with his three young children being given particular attention. She added that prosecutors will push for a heavy sentence in order to reflect the “callous” nature of Lenny’s murder.
A second man who was also charged with manslaughter in connection with the murder, however, has avoided being convicted – according to the Liverpool Echo. Anthony Cleary, who was also on trial for his part in the crime was found not guilty of either murder nor manslaughter, and has as a result been absolved of his role in the incident.
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