Trio caged after delivery driver killed on birthday

CAR-JACK victim James Ray

A CHADDERTON man is one of a trio jailed over the death of a delivery driver.

James Ray died on his 70th birthday following a car jacking at Plantation Industrial Estate in Ashton.

Patrick Joseph Cawley (22), of Orchard Crescent, Chadderton, was yesterday entenced to seven years behind bars at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square, for manslaughter, aggravated vehicle taking and conspiracy to steal.

Patrick John McDonagh (20), of The Cray, Milnrow, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison and Martin Patrick Ward Jnr (25), of Royd Street, Rochdale, to 13 years for the same offences.

The robbery happened while Mr Ray, from York, was unloading washing powder at a laundry on November 12, 2015. He'd climbed into the back of his van to grab the product he was dropping off.

The precise circumstances have never been established, however it's believed that Mr Ray fell out of the back door of the van as it was being stolen and driven away.

As the van continued to drive away at speed with Cawley and McDonagh inside, Ward Jnr followed in a Ford Fiesta that the three had originally arrived in, leaving Mr Ray lying on the floor with catastrophic injuries.

He was found sometime later and taken to hospital where he tragically died in the early hours of the following day.

The Fiesta was later recovered in the Heywood area and further inquiries into the car found that it had been, among other vehicles, linked to a number of commercial thefts and burglaries over the previous four months.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Crewe, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This has been a very complex investigation, involving numerous offenders involved in a variety of offences but I am pleased to say that these men have finally been brought to justice.

"The day James Ray died he should have been celebrating his 70th birthday with his loved ones but instead he was taken from them as a result of a thoughtless act committed by Mark Ward Jnr, Patrick McDonagh and Patrick Cawley.

"Although it won't bring James back, I hope the sentence passed today will bring his loved ones some form of closure and help them rebuild their lives."