Hammersmith Woman Jailed for Arranging Shooting of Ex-Boyfriend
A woman from Hammersmith has been sentenced to 16 years in jail for conspiring with two other men to arrange for her ex- boyfriend to be shot.
Samantha Cadge, 26, of The Square, in the Peabody Estate on Fulham Palace Road was jailed on Wednesday January 11 for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to do serious injury to her former fiance, postman Adam Harsent.
Her accomplices, who had both pleaded guilty, were also jailed. Cadge's cousin Shane Worrall, 30, pictured below, of Sulgrave Road in Hammersmith was given a 14 year sentence while Marwan Goodridge, 24, of Seacole Close in Acton got 18 years and an additional five years for possession of a firearm and ammunition to be served concurrently.
The court heard that Cadge and Worrall, pictured left, promised to pay hitman Goodridge £10,000 in cash for the shooting.
Goodridge lay in wait in a Rentokil van and shot Mr Harsent, 26 in the base of his spine, then as he lay on the ground, stood over him and shot him in the thigh, leaving him paralysed.
Police were called to the scene in Marsh Drive in West Hendon at around 5.45am on November 25, 2010. Mr Harsent was taken to an east London hospital by ambulance in a critical condition. He remained in hospital for a number of months, undergoing surgery a number of times, and is now confined to a wheelchair.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Harsent said: " Prior to being shot, I was a healthy, fit and active young man.
" I have been told I may never be able to have children, this upsets me greatly as children are something I always hoped would be part of my life.
" The injuries cause me great pain and I often lie awake at night in agony. The pain is so bad that I scream out.
" I often have nightmares, I dream that I am back outside my flat and I’m reliving being shot. I feel my independence and the future I saw and worked for and planned have been deliberately taken away from me."
Mr Harsent had been engaged to Samantha Cadge, and lived with her at her family home, but ended the relationship in October 2009. Cadge, who worked for Wandsworth Council as a benefit assessor, began planning her revenge after she discovered he had gone on holiday with her friend.
While police enquiries continued into the shooting, a separate enquiry resulted in a drugs search being carried out at a property in Acton on December 8. A sawn off shotgun was found together with details and photographs of Mr Harsent.
Also found was clothing matching that worn by the gunman. The occupant of the flat, Marwan Goodridge, pictured right, was arrested for the shooting.
Later that day he was charged with possession of the gun and
remanded in custody.
An identification process carried out later confirmed Goodridge as the man who carried out the shooting.
Police were able to link Goodridge to Cadge and Worrall and show contact between them at crucial times. The photographs of the victim were found to have Cadge's and Worral's fingerprints on them and a handwritten note found in Worrall's flat had been shown to be written by Cadge.
Jailing her for the crime Judge Nicholas Price said: " You, Cadge, were the driving force. Your motivation was part revenge, part anger and part financial. You knew if he was seriously injured you would get your share of a substantial sum of money from an insurance policy.
" It may well be that you were justified in feeling he had treated you badly in bringing an end to a long-standing relationship, and that was maybe more poignant because he then started a relationship with someone who had been a friend.
"But none of that goes anywhere near what you had asked your cousin to do, and it was not a simple request, but a persistent and determined campaign. Your emails and texts show just how embittered you had become with Mr Harsent."
Detective Inspector Sally Jeffrey formerly of Trident Non-Fatal Shootings team said: "The victim received life-changing injuries from this shooting which was arranged simply as revenge for the breakdown of a long-standing relationship.
"All three defendants played their part in arranging for the victim to be shot, with the ultimate aim that he be caused serious injury."
Judge Price described Goodridge's actions as "chilling" and said: " He didn’t know the man, he had no animosity toward him, he did it as he was promised £10,000. The consequences were devastating to that young man... He will never walk again."
The judge added that cash totalling £2,600 found in Goodridge’s flat will go directly to Mr Harsent to begin compensating him.
January 12, 2012
