Music producer ‘Menace to Society’ guilty of shooting over £3.50 drug debt

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A music producer performing under the stage name “Menace to Society” has been found guilty of attempted murder after shooting a pistol through a window of a busy street over a £3.50 drugs debt.

Seeking vengeance and disguised in a mask Marcus Adepoju, 31, shot three rounds at a man in Catford smashing the window and showering his target in broken glass.

The three shots narrowly missed him but the glass shards caused superficial injury and extensive damage to the building.

DC John Nightingale, a Trident detective from Specialist Crime, said: “Adepoju is an extremely dangerous individual who had no qualms about shooting a man through a window on a busy residential street.

“It is only through sheer good fortune that the victim was not more seriously injured or killed. “Adepoju produced music under the stage name ‘Menace To Society’ – sadly his actions reinforced this moniker and he will now pay the price for his crimes.

“Keeping Londoners safe is our top priority and reducing gun crime is a key part of this. As this case shows, we know gun crime is closely linked to drugs and we will continue to use all of our resources to take both off the streets of our capital.”

Woolwich Crown Court had heard that officers were called to a house on Nelgarde Road in April 2023 where a man reported he had been fired at through a window by a masked shooter.

Detectives trawled through CCTV of the suspect walking to the scene from a house in Laleham Road, Hither Green and returning there soon afterwards.

Police watched Adepoju travelling from the house to a storage facility in Forest Hill, south London.

Officers searched that unit finding two guns alongside a cache of ammunition, drugs, cash and knives.

Another storage facility linked to Adepoju was found to contain more bullets and a stash of banknotes and drugs.

Adepoju was stopped by officers in a car in Chingford in east London where he was found to be in possession of a bag which contained a large set of keys.

These included keys for the house on Laleham Road as well as the two storage units.

Forensic enquiries carried out on one of the seized guns linked it to the shooting, as well as to another incident in March 2023 in which a bullet hole was found in a lorry in Forest Hill.

Adepoju’s DNA was found on both weapons.

Adepoju was found guilty of attempted murder, possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and a further count of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, at a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday.

The producer from Tottenham, north London, had pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of a firearm, money laundering, possession with intent to supply class A drugs and possession of bladed articles at an earlier hearing.

The music producer’s phone was also analysed and revealed several images of a third firearm, the court had heard. Francis Ajeigbe, 60, who was arrested by police during a search of his house in Laleham Road, was found guilty of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and money laundering.

Both he and Adepoju will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown on April 12.