Jonathan Gordon, 34, was charged with £6,000 for carrying out an acid attack and £10,000 for blinding someone.
On the encrypted communication platform EncroChat, he received orders from an unidentified boss of an organised crime group (OCG).
He nearly blinded one man after throwing a container of acid in his face, planned more attacks, organised the shooting of another man’s house, and was involved in two other street shootings in Liverpool, one of which blew out an OAP couple’s bedroom window.
The first victim left his home in Milton Street, St Helens, on 14 April 2019 to retrieve a charger from his car.
Gordon, who went by the EncroChat handle Valuedbridge, was waiting for him and threw a container of acid in his face.
The victim was temporarily blinded, but after medical treatment, he regained his sight months later.
During an identity parade, he chose Gordon, a resident of Kirkdale, Liverpool, but with no fixed address, as his attacker.
EncroChat was shut down in 2020, with international law enforcement able to access messages sent by criminals.
The National Crime Agency launched Operation Venetic, the UK law enforcement response to EncroChat’s demise.
Previously encrypted messages revealed Gordon, a convicted drug dealer and member of Liverpool’s ‘Deli Mob,’ was taking orders from an unidentified crime boss.
He and Gordon intended to carry out a second acid attack on a man in Blackpool, with the paymaster declaring that the victim “needs a good litre on him,” as well as a third attack on a man in Warrington.
The Blackpool attack was cancelled because it was scheduled to take place during the first lockdown, when the roads were empty and the perpetrators were concerned about police spotting their stolen car.
Gordon and accomplices Dylan Johnston, 27, and Stephen Wissett, 28, drove a stolen Ford Fiesta to Birtles Road in Warrington on April 6, 2020, with the intent of throwing acid on a man who lived there.
They abandoned the attack after discovering the house had CCTV and decided to return the next day in disguise.
However, the three offenders were approached by patrol officers the following day, April 7, while in Liverpool. Gordon, Johnston, and Wissett fled, but the car was stopped and the attack was averted.
Wissett’s DNA was discovered on a Lucozade bottle, the steering wheel, and a pair of gloves during a forensic examination. Another pair of gloves had Johnston’s DNA on them.
The failed bid on 7 April did not deter the crime boss, who wanted Gordon to return to Birtles Road and “double the dose” and “cook” the intended victim with acid.
However, NCA investigators – working in collaboration with Merseyside Police, Cheshire Police, and the North West ROCU – discovered via EncroChat messages that a grenade had previously been left in the front garden of the house in Birtles Road, Warrington.
Using EncroChat intelligence, NCA officers arranged for the bomb squad to perform a controlled explosion on the grenade on April 14.
As a result, the OCG paused the acid attack because it was clear that law enforcement had become involved. Gordon continued to discuss the planned acid attack with his boss, telling him, “He getting blinded, bro.”
Gordon was also involved in a street gunfight with an unknown man on January 24, 2020, according to EncroChat messages.
Gordon’s phone was found in Wilburn Street, Liverpool, around midnight, according to cell site evidence, and Gordon also texted his boss, saying he “let off a clip in the street.” Officers on the scene discovered Gordon’s DNA on a kicked-open front door to a house as well as on the handle of the back door.
Gordon was also involved in another gunfight with an unknown attacker on May 25, 2020, according to messages. At 11.45 p.m., a man on an e-bike approached Gordon, and they exchanged fire, with a bullet from Gordon’s Grand Power handgun passing through the bedroom window of an elderly couple’s house on Carisbrooke Road in Liverpool.
Gordon informed his boss on EncroChat that he had lost his Grand Power and sent him an image of a newspaper article about the shooting.
His hand was visible in the photograph, and a finger print expert confirmed that both his palm and the palm in the photograph belonged to Gordon.
Gordon was also involved in a plot to bomb a house in Reaper Close, Warrington, on March 20, 2020.
In a drive-by shooting, he and accomplice Dylan Johnston, 27, organised a team to blast the windows of the house. Phone records showed the two men talking just minutes after the attack. Forensic evidence established that the bullets originated from the same gun used in the Wilburn Street shooting.
Gordon and Johnston were found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday afternoon.
Wissett, of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, but with no fixed address, had previously admitted conspiracy to commit GBH – he was part of the team planning to throw acid in the face of a victim.
The trio will be sentenced in court on June 15th. Gordon’s ruthlessness, according to Judge David Aubrey, knew no bounds.
I pay testimony to the victim in this case and thank him for his bravery and support in helping us bring Jonathan Gordon to justice,” said Ben Rutter, NCA Operations Manager.
“The victim sustained life-altering injuries, and the physical and mental toll of his assault cannot be overstated.”
“Jonathan Gordon is a very dangerous criminal.” His actions were particularly heinous; he had no qualms about blinding victims for money.
“As an enforcer for his OCG, he brought a lot of harm to the streets, and it’s a good thing no one was killed in his chaotic and reckless use of firearms.”
I commend the National Crime Agency, Merseyside Police, and Cheshire Police officers who conducted the investigation.” This was a lengthy, complex investigation that lasted several years, and the officers worked tirelessly to ensure that the evidence gathered left no doubt about Gordon’s guilt.
