A man from Moria has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for his part in an attempted murder of a rival.

Vito Dimarco, 36, of Donisthorpe Lane, will serve minimum of two thirds of his sentence before being considered for release following the incident in Wishaw, North Warwickshire.

Warwick Crown Court heard that Dimarco was involved in a dispute with the victim, a man in his 50s.

A police investigation identified the rivalry and the court heard Dimarco had been given a suspended sentence and restraining order for previously assaulting the victim.

It the transpired DiMarco had hired Darren Hattersley and Nathan Odley to kill the victim.

Following a six-week trial, the judge condemned three men for their part in attempting to murder the man in September, 2021.

Dimarco, Hattersley and Odley were sentenced on Thursday (12 January) after being found unanimously guilty earlier this week of conspiracy to commit murder.

Hattersley, 54, of Church Lane, Thrumpton, Nottingham, and Odley, 42, of Osmaston Road, Derby, were both sentenced to 30 years in prison with an extended period of five years on licence.

They will also be required to serve a minimum of two thirds of their sentence.

Pamiela O'Connor, 38, of Glenwood Road, Chellaston, Derby, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and will be sentenced at a later date.

The victim was shot twice on Grove Lane on the morning of September 5, 2021.

He suffered life-changing injuries and spent nearly a month in hospital recovering.

Through further work by Warwickshire Police, it transpired DiMarco had hired Hattersley and Odley to kill the victim while O'Connor was found to have provided a false alibi for her then-partner, Odley.

The court heard that the victim was home alone on Grove Lane when he noticed a silver VW Phaeton being driven up and down the road and parking up next to his home address.

Shortly after 1.15pm he went outside and was met by a man with a short-barrelled firearm wearing a balaclava who shouted "Oi geezer" and shot him once in the leg.

As the victim dropped to the floor and attempted to move away, the man moved towards him.

And while the victim was still on the floor the gunman fired the gun again – causing injuries to his arm, wrist and hand – before he was able to get into his house and call the police.

The gunman made off, while the victim suffered life-changing injuries and spent nearly a month in hospital recovering.

A meticulous police investigation began, which identified a dispute between the victim and Dimarco.

In June, 2021, Dimarco, who lived a few miles from Ashby de la Zouch, had been given a suspended sentence and restraining order having been convicted of assaulting the victim in a separate matter.

Through further investigative work, it transpired the 36-year-old had hired the two men inside the car – Hattersley and Odley - to kill the victim.

And during police interviews, O'Connor was found to have provided a false alibi for her then-partner, Odley.

In June 2022, Dimarco, Hattersley, and Odley were charged with conspiracy to commit murder while O'Connor was charged with committing an act/a series of acts with intent to pervert the course of justice.

Sentencing them, Judge Andrew Lockhart called the incident a 'callous' shooting. 

He added: "You chose to target him. He was shot in cold blood and left for dead.

"There could hardly have been a more terrifying experience.

"He had called the police as he lay in his house with an injury that had caused huge damage to his leg and another to his arm.

"In evidence [the victim] told the jury that he had pleaded with the gunman for his life saying. This fell on deaf ears.

"You left the victim for dead…that was the idea. Speeding north, you, Nathan Odley and Darren Hattersley reactivated your phones and set about covering your tracks.

"You, Vito Dimarco, wanted to distance yourself as far as you could from the killing you had ordered, as a result you set in train a very sophisticated set of events to ensure that you had a concrete alibi for the period.

"In due course through thorough and impressive policing the net closed in, and you were all arrested. Not one of you told the truth in interview or…before the jury.

"You had arranged and put in place an elaborate plan to construct an account designed to fool the investigators and the jury. It was exposed in evidence."