A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2024 murder of Rikki Berry in Kirkby, Merseyside. Ryan Walsh-Westhead appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on February 13, 2026, where he was ordered to serve a minimum of 28 years before he can be considered for release.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Walsh-Westhead was found guilty of murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. He is the fourth person to be jailed for the targeted drive-by shooting of Mr Berry, a 36-year-old father who was killed outside a home on Quarryside Drive.
The court heard that investigators used audio from a Ring doorbell camera at the home of Walsh-Westhead to help secure the conviction. Although the physical camera had been removed before police arrived to search the house, detectives recovered the footage from his mother’s mobile phone. The recording captured him saying “the f***ing idiot’s dead” only one minute after the fatal shots were fired.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Andrew Menary KC said the group attack brought the lawlessness of the wild west to the local streets. Walsh-Westhead joins three other men who were sentenced in early 2025 to a combined total of more than 90 years for their parts in the killing.
While the court case for this specific incident has now finished, Merseyside Police are still asking the community for help with wider safety concerns. Officers are appealing for anyone with information about where illegal weapons are being kept or moved in the area to come forward.
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