Notorious gangster Patrick ‘Patsy’ Adams jailed for nine years for shooting a ‘grass’

A NOTORIOUS crime boss who shot an associate he accused of being a "grass" has been jailed for nine years.

Patrick "Patsy" Adams, shot Paul Tiernan three years ago as he sat in his BMW, and police found a note from the victim in his flat after the shooting challenging Adams to face him.

Woolwich Crown Court heard the pair lived by the "same code" and days before the shooting the victim had complained Adams called him a "grass".

Police who searched Adams's flat in the days after the shooting found a note from Tiernan, 54, which said "I ain't no f****** grass" and urged his former friend to "face me".

Adams, who is reputed to be the enforcer for a north London gang family, claimed Tiernan pulled the gun but as he wrestled with him the gun went off.

He survived after having part of his bowel removed, but refused to cooperate with police.

Tiernan later said that being accused of being a grass hurt more than the pain of being shot.

Adams fled abroad with his wife Constance, 56, before the pair were extradited from the Netherlands on a European arrest warrant last October.

The defendant admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent on Monday, as the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence on a charge of attempted murder.

Sentencing him today, Judge Christopher Kinch said: "It was Patrick Adams who chose to make use of the loaded firearm when it was in his hands.

"That was a momentous decision. You are a man who has had some experience with firearms and have some understanding of their power.

"You took steps to dispose of evidence in this case, including the weapon.

"You also made sustained efforts to evade arrest, leaving the country and seeking refuge in the Netherlands."

Adams looked to his wife and three children, George, Ria and Connie, who waved from the public gallery as Judge Christopher Kinch QC jailed him for nine years.

He said: "The defendant did not bring the gun to the scene and had no more than a handful of seconds to the threat just when Tiernan pointed the loaded firearm at him."

According to his barrister, James Scobie QC, Adams had "gone straight" after being released from his last prison sentence and had lived a "law-abiding" life with his wife and "soulmate" Constance for more than 30 years.

He told the judge his client was forced to 'fight for his life' after 'having a cocked 45 pointed through an open window, on a quiet Sunday morning by a man pumped up with steroids' as he walked to the shops on Sunday morning with his wife.

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