Ashley Dale’s mother says drug dealer Lee Harrison’s sentence is unfair after her daughter’s tragic death.
The shooting happened August 21, 2022. Harrison did not help the police and claimed he didn’t know why he was targeted. He also said he wasn’t threatened. Then, Harrison fled to Dubai and told Ashley’s mom he knew nothing.
Police arrested Harrison last year. He got five years for drug crimes involving the ‘Kyle’ drug line. He admitted to selling heroin and crack, and to possessing cocaine. The court called him a “foot soldier” who had to “get his hands dirty” in drug deals. The judge said he traded in misery, but his lawyer said he had a tough time and suffered a loss.
Ashley’s mom, Julie, spoke after the sentencing. She said Harrison never gave her answers and showed no remorse. His family didn’t contact her either, and they still supported Harrison’s crimes. Ashley’s death was meaningless, she said, and she struggles with their lack of compassion, which hurts her mental health every day. The sentence isn’t justice, she believes, and she wishes Ashley never knew Harrison.
Harrison faces further legal problems. Organized crime brings tragedy, she said. Too many young people die from gun crime, and families live a life sentence of grief. She will keep fighting for Ashley and hopes her story warns other women; think before dating criminals, she urged. Harrison lived with his mom in Huyton, where he and Terence Rice sold heroin and crack, running the “Kyle Line” drug operation.
They sold drugs 247 times, police found, the total was 222 grams of drugs. Police stopped their BMW in Kirkdale; Rice drove, and Harrison seemed nervous. Police found his iPhone, but he wouldn’t give them the password. They found a phone and cash in the car. Police searched his house and found drug items and cocaine there. Drugs were also in his mom’s room.
Harrison didn’t speak to the police. He had past convictions for drugs and weapons. His lawyer, Stephen McNally, spoke in court and said Harrison had a hard time. He lost his job and home, McNally said, and moved back with his mother. His mental health declined, according to McNally. Judge Medland KC sentenced Harrison, saying Harrison chose criminal behavior and made money from hurting others.
The judge said drugs ruin lives, break up families, and hurt society. Rice got five years and two months. A feud led to Ashley’s death. Harrison and Niall Barry used to be friends. Barry ordered the killing attempt, wanting no witnesses left alive. Texts showed “heavy beef” between them, sparked by a $40,000 cocaine theft. Witham, Barry, Zeisz, and Peers got life, as they murdered Ashley and planned to kill Harrison.