Jack Mew, Garyn Marshall-Palmer and Rhys Mew (Image: South Wales Police)
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A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years and three months in prison after firing a handgun in the street during a drugs feud on the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil.
Rhys Mew, of Willow Road, Gurnos, fired a 9mm weapon during a pursuit through the estate on the night of August 9 last year. The gun has never been recovered.
Sentencing
Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Cardiff Crown Court that Mew had been responsible for dealing “a great deal of Class A drugs” in Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding areas, and said when that “successful enterprise” was threatened he had “little hesitation in taking the most extreme steps to defend it”.
The judge said discharging a firearm in a built-up residential area could have resulted in the most serious of outcomes, and that Mew had recruited others to play their parts in ensuring the success of the drugs operation.
Mew had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine, conspiracy to supply cocaine, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and possession of ammunition without a licence. He also has a previous conviction for affray in 2021, relating to an incident in which he waved a knife at family members during a domestic altercation with an ex-partner.
His brother Jack Mew, 19, also of Willow Road, admitted possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possession of ammunition without a licence. He was sentenced to three years’ detention in a young offender institution. He has no previous convictions.
Garyn Marshall-Palmer, 20, also of Willow Road, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He received two years and nine months’ detention in a young offender institution. He has four previous convictions for 10 offences including inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assaulting an emergency worker, and affray – with the ABH and affray both linked to group violence in Merthyr town centre.
Joshua Johnson, 24, of Pine Close, Gurnos, and Ashley Scott, 25, of Fir Tree Close, Gurnos, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply crack cocaine. Both were sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years and ordered to complete rehabilitation courses and unpaid work – 150 hours for Scott and 200 hours for Johnson. Their pleas were entered on the basis that they were involved for a limited period, acted under Mew’s direction, and gained no financial advantage.
All custodial defendants will serve up to half their sentences before being released on licence.
The shooting
Prosecutor Alice Sykes told the court that a resident on the estate had been closing his blinds that evening when he saw a man in the street being chased by a group of males. The witness saw the group disappear down an alley and heard someone shout: “F***ing get him.” Moments later he heard a loud bang.
Other people in the area also reported hearing a bang which “sounded like a gunshot or a firework” but none witnessed the incident directly.
Officers recovered a spent 9mm cartridge casing from the scene, and analysis of CCTV and video doorbell footage allowed police to establish that Rhys Mew, Jack Mew, and Marshall-Palmer had been moving around the Gurnos before locating a man named Craig Harris in Magnolia Close and chasing him on foot.
Harris has refused to co-operate with the police investigation. The prosecution described the incident as a “revenge attack as part of an ongoing drugs feud”.
Evidence recovered
A subsequent search of the Mew family home uncovered three live 9mm cartridges of the same type used in the shooting, hidden in the attic. The firearm itself was not found.
At a separate address in Lakeside View on the Gurnos linked to Rhys Mew, officers seized a black Nike bag containing 25 cocaine deals and £50 in cash. Gun residue was detected inside the bag, and police believe it had been used to carry the missing pistol.
A phone recovered during the investigation contained messages relating to the supply of “flake” and “stones” – cocaine and crack cocaine – over the preceding month.
Facebook messages sent by Mew to Harris before the shooting included one stating: “Keep robbing my sales and see what happens.” After the incident, Mew messaged contacts saying he had “been up to no good” and was keeping his head down, and separately that he had “done some naughty s***” – accompanied by a gun emoji.
The drugs operation
The court heard that Mew was already on bail for drug supply offences at the time of the shooting, having been arrested at Bristol Airport on August 5, 2024, after returning from Turkey.
Those charges stemmed from a search warrant executed at a property in Fir Tree Close on the Gurnos in August 2023. Officers found Scott in the garden shed alongside bicarbonate of soda and empty snap-seal bags. Inside the house they recovered bundles of cash, an ice cream tub containing multiple burner phones, Mew’s bank card, and – concealed in a void between a wall and the ceiling – weighing scales and further cash.
Phones seized at that property contained messages connected to cocaine and crack cocaine supply, as well as contact between Mew and Johnson. In one message, Mew referred to having £58,000 worth of cocaine in prepared deals.
Following the raid, Mew’s solicitors told police he was willing to attend a voluntary interview. However, officers waited for full phone downloads to be completed. When they subsequently tried to locate him, he could not be found despite arrest inquiries and visits to multiple addresses. Police were aware he was due to fly to Turkey and asked Border Force to notify them on his return.
Defence mitigation
Hashim Salmman, for Rhys Mew, said the father-of-one’s best mitigation was his guilty pleas. He described him as a former Ystrad Mynach College student with “a history of legitimate employment” who had become head chef while on remand – “a position of responsibility which he is enjoying”.
John Ryan, for Marshall-Palmer, told the court his client had a reading age of six and was a “follower not a leader”, adding that the defendant hoped to find employment in scaffolding, the industry in which his father works.
Owen Williams, representing Jack Mew, said his client had been in a “bad place” and was using controlled drugs at the time of the offending but had since detoxed on remand. He said in the “sober light of day” his client was remorseful and wanted to lead a law-abiding life.
Martha Smith-Higgins, for Johnson, said he had been involved in the conspiracy for a short period only. She told the court he had worked in a garage for seven years and was training to be an MoT tester, lives with his grandfather for whom he is the primary carer, and that his partner of two years was expecting their child at the end of the year.
Andrew Kendall, for Scott, said his client’s involvement in the conspiracy was “a very short period of time” and that he “wants to keep his head down and lead a law-abiding life”.
