Joe Cook was previously sentenced for manslaughter after fatally stabbing someone when he was just 16
A young man who fatally stabbed a drug customer when he was just 16 pulled out a loaded gun and threatened a police officer. Joe Cook, now 23, and his associates were approached by undercover officers after they attracted attention by riding a suspected stolen scrambler bike on a field between Vista Road and Lodge Lane in Newton-le-Willows at around 12.30pm on January 4 this year.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this morning, Monday, November 4 that Cook was approached by Merseyside Police Constable Lee, who attempted to apprehend him while his associates fled on the scrambler bike. David Birrell, prosecuting, told the court Cook was on bail for drug offences when he fled from the officer, leading her on a pursuit “over a fence, across a muddy field, through a hedge and up a road into a residential area” on Billington Road.
The court heard that while he was being pursued by the officer he repeatedly threatened to “chin her” as she gained ground towards him. The court heard he threatened the officer on three occasions but she was not deterred. However, as she got closer to Cook he turned around and pointed a loaded handgun at her.
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The court heard the brave officer was “utterly terrified” but she continued towards Cook before wrestling him to the crowd. More officers arrived at the scene shortly after and the defendant was overpowered and arrested.
Summarising two victim impact statements from PC Lee, Mr Birrell told the court the officer had been having counselling following the incident and had to go off work for a period of time with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mr Birrell said the officer now didn’t even feel safe, even when she was at home, and her job as a police constable had been significantly impacted because of the worry about her well-being.
The officer later added that the counselling hadn’t been effective and she was seeking cognitive behavioural therapy. The prosecutor added: “The incident has changed her life in ways she couldn’t have imagined.”
The court heard Cook was on bail at the time of the firearms incident for different offences. Mr Birrell said that Cook was stopped on an e-bike in the Newton-le-Willows area at around 11.20am on July 29 2023. He was detained at the scene and 542 wraps of cocaine and 88 wraps of heroin were found on him. The court heard this amounted to around 61 grams of cocaine and 15 of heroin.
He was also found with 12 grams of cannabis resin and £90. Police also recovered £850 in cash and a set of scales from his family’s house in Sandhills. Mr Birrell said an expert determined “the drugs were packaged for street deals and would have been worth around £6,000”. He added: “This is street dealing with a significant role.”
Judge Denis Watson KC, presiding, said in response: “It is an awful lot of drugs, the whole county lines extension of the case is clear. I have yet to come across a dealer who has 630 wraps. It has the feel, when he comes from Liverpool, that he is delivering to the street peddlers. He is at a higher level than the street dealer – he is supplying. That is the picture I have.”
The court heard Cook has six convictions for 14 offences. Mr Birrell said this included a conviction for manslaughter from 2017 when he was just 16. The court heard the killing involved a knife and the victim was a drug user that Cook had been supplying drugs to. He was sentenced to a four year detention and training order.
Cook appeared before the courts again in 2020 where he was sentenced to further drugs offences. He was jailed for 44 months in a young offenders’ institution at the age of 18.
Regarding the most recent offences, Cook was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to resist arrest, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of ammunition without a certificate and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
He was also charged with possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin. The court heard the offence of possession of a firearm with intent to resist arrest would be treated as the lead offence as he had done so to “maximise fear and distress” by pointing the gun at the officer. The court heard there were also aggravating factors including the fact he was on bail at the time and that he attempted to dispose of the firearm at the scene.
In mitigation, Peter Killen, defending, told the court that the defendant had “panicked as he attempted to flee”. He added his client had indicated guilty pleas in the lower courts in respect of the drugs indictment. He said: “There are many roles played in drug dealing, there are other roles below those in charge that are active in going from one place to another.”
He added his client was “not a leading mind” otherwise he wouldn’t be the one undertaking the journey. Mr Killen told the court: “This is going to be a substantial sentence and will include a substantial custodial sentence, greater than he has ever faced before. The defendant has tried to make use of the time he has spent in custody, although there is not a lot of opportunity available while on remand.
“The defendant has reflected on his life, he has younger siblings who he will be apart from for a long time. He said ‘the only thing I would like to tell them is to not do what I have done’. He regrets going what he has done and wants to deter people from the same path. The defendant is perhaps learning to reflect on things that are more obvious to the rest of us.”
Sentencing, Judge Watson told the defendant that given the value and amount of drugs he had in his possession during his arrest in July last year that his involvement was “at a higher level than a street dealer”. Turning to the firearms indictment, the judge said Cook’s decision to pull out the gun was “done to maximise fear…so you could get away”.
He told Cook, who wore a grey prison-issue tracksuit and had grown his dark hair longer since his mugshot was taken: “One only has to look at the steps you had taken issuing an initial threat before pulling out the loaded handgun so you could get away.”
However, the judge accepted it was not a planned production and instead happened in desperation. But the judge added Cook’s decision to carry the gun in the first place when he already had a manslaughter conviction was a significant aggravating factor. The judge added there was no dispute in terms of the “severe psychological impact” this has continued to have on the police officer.
Handing down consecutive sentences for the two indictments, Judge Watson sentenced Cook to eight years for the firearms offences and five years and eight months for the possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin. As Cook was led down to the cells he said “love you loads, see you later” to a number of members of his family.
