Terrified man who says he is a prisoner in his own home after Skelmersdale shooting jailed
A terrified man who claimed he was a prisoner in his own home after being wounded in a shooting five years ago has been jailed for failing to carry out community service.
Brian Murphy, of Brierfield, Skelmersdale, told a judge in Preston he was too afraid to leave the house after being targeted by a gunman in 2020.
The 35-year-old, who was said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), admitted breaking a suspended sentence order by not turning up for unpaid work sessions and also skipping meetings with probation officers.
But despite pleas for leniency from his defence barrister, Judge Ian Unsworth KC activated the 10-month prison sentence which was originally handed down in October last year and deferred for two years.
The court was told Murphy had completed only two hours of his 120 hours community sentence in the eight months since the order was imposed by Preston Crown Court.
In addition he had failed to show up for any of 15 rehabilitation meetings with probation.
Judge Unsworth told him: “Your compliance (with the suspended sentence order) has been lamentable. You have actively disengaged.”
It is understood Murphy suffered a shotgun wound in the leg in Skelmersdale in July 2020.
He was given the suspended prison sentence at Preston in October 2024 after pleading guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm.
The offence happened during a domestic incident.
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Judge Unsworth was told this was the second time he had failed to adhere to the conditions imposed – his first breach came in March this year.
Murphy’s defence lawyer said her client took full responsibility for breaching the order, but there had been extenuating circumstances.
She said: “He was shot five years ago and he has now got PTSD.
“He cannot leave his home. He cannot even pick his children up from school.”
She added he was struggling to feed himself or even wash himself. He was taking medication for the PTSD and was unable to work. So he had been unable to get to the unpaid work and rehabilitation sessions ordered as part of the suspended sentence.
She urged the judge not to send him to prison where, because of his mental health issues, he would be vulnerable and in the short-term not receive help to get his life back on track.
But while Judge Unsworth accepted Murphy had faced real difficulties since being shot, he felt that after two breaches he must finally activate the suspended sentence.
He said the problems had stemmed from “a very serious incident some years ago which has had a profound effect upon you.” But he told him that the suspended sentence had been imposed for an assault in a domestic setting and the courts regarded those sorts of offences as particularly serious.
He added that because Murphy had failed previously to comply with a suspended prison sentence he now felt it was right to activate it.