Whitworth man jailed for 9 years after being found guilty of possessing a gun

A Whitworth man has been jailed for nine years after being found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm and conspiracy to possess ammunition.

Jordan Proctor, 33, has been jailed for nine years after appearing at Bolton Crown Court alongside Joshua Gibbons, 28, and Tyler Gibbons, 22, both of Stockport. Joshua was jailed for nine years and Tyler was jailed for seven.

The trio had all been forensically linked to a loaded revolver style handgun and ammunition recovered by police in June 2022. It had been hidden in a cupboard at an address in Edgeley, Stockport, with police launching an investigation.

Hours after the men heard the news that their firearm had been recovered by police, the three conspirators met to plan their next move.

One plan included Joshua flying to South America to escape potential prosecution. He made the decision to move his flight forward and flee the country to Suriname.

Later, police uncovered texts he sent to a friend saying he’d ‘f***ed off man hot for me over there at mo’.

After two months in the sun, Joshua returned to the UK via Holyhead ferry port on Saturday 26 August 2022. Knowing he was wanted, he handed himself into Cheadle Police Station.

As police pieced together the timeline of events, it’s believed that on 4 June, Joshua Gibbons went to Whitworth to collect the firearm from Jordan Proctor.

However, shortly after, Gibbons was involved in a road traffic collision on Thorburn Drive, Whitworth.

During that investigation, significant footage was found which potentially showed Gibbons removing the firearm from the vehicle before police arrived at the scene.

Jordan Proctor was arrested following a warrant at his house in Whitworth on 5 September 2022. Tyler Gibbons was also arrested at his house in Edgeley on 15 November 2022.

Detective Constable Jon Greenslade, from GMP’s Stockport district, said: “This was a longstanding investigation which spanned over 18 months. None of the defendants offered any explanation into the presence of their DNA on the firearms, ammunition, or any context of their association, meaning it was for police to prove.

“And that’s exactly what we did. Working with partners and utilising resources from across the force we were able to remove a deadly weapon from our community and bring those involved in firearms possession and distribution to justice.

“Programme Challenger will continue to clamp down on criminals who think they don't have to follow the same rules as the rest of us, and regularly endanger others with their acts.”

If you have any information about criminal behaviour, please get in touch with Greater Manchester Police. You can contact 101, report information at gmp.police.uk, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.