Palmer, Stokes and Miller will be sentenced on 6 June at Birmingham Crown Court
By Maisie Olah
BBC News, West Midlands
Three men have been found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a gunman disguised as a Tesco delivery driver opened fire, shooting a man five times.
The victim was shot in Sheldon, Birmingham, in May 2020. Police said it was a miracle he survived.
Connor Palmer, Craig Miller and Elijah Stokes were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court and will be sentenced at a later date.
Miller was also guilty of conspiracy to commit murder on a second person.
A young child had been in the house when the gunman struck but was unhurt, West Midlands Police said.
The victim had owed money to someone who police described as a “high-level UK drug dealer currently living in Dubai.”
Fighting for life
The hitman, who has never been identified, turned up at the address, wearing a Tesco jacket and high-visibility vest. The door was opened by the victim’s partner.
The gunman asked if the victim was “expecting a delivery”, before saying: “He’s here, isn’t he” and walking into the house opening fire at the man.
The victim was taken to hospital where he was left fighting for his life, but survived which Det Insp Gemma Currie said was a miracle.
Palmer, 40 of Surrey and Miller, 38 of Norbury, London, and another man formed a group which was paid £100,00 by the drug dealer to kill their victim, police said.
The group paid the gunman £40,000 and Stokes, 39 of Earlsdon, Coventry, arranged for a car and a gun to be delivered to him.
Investigations continue with regards to the other man in the group, police said.
Another murder wanted
The men were found out three weeks later, when the drug dealer wanted another murder committed.
Using Encrochat, an encrypted global service, the dealer told Miller he wanted another man to be killed, sending a photo of his victim.
Miller replied: “Clips going in his head”, the court heard.
This shooting did not take place as the messages, found on a phone belonging to Palmer, were discovered by the National Crime Agency.
This led to messages being discovered about the Sheldon shooting.
Det Insp Gemma Currie said: “The messages we uncovered as part of this investigation make for truly chilling reading and are like something from a movie”
She said it was thanks to the EncroChat breakthrough the conspiracy was unravelled.
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