Cannabis factory robbery plot "crooks" attempted to murder innocent men in shooting
The four men had a “clear intention to kill anyone who got in their way”
A gang of “crooks” armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a knife shot two innocent men and “intended to kill” any human being who got in the way of their plot to rob a cannabis factory.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how Samuel Jebson, Oliver Jebson, Paul Oates and Callum Rogers were planning to rob a nearby cannabis factory when they attempted to gun down and murder two innocent men who happened to be located near to the illegal grow.
Sending the four Rotherham men to begin prison sentences totalling 125 years, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, described them as “local crooks who acquired a gun and used it to perpetrate a serious crime.”
He told them: “Those who use guns to perpetrate other crimes, and have a clear intention to kill anyone who gets in their way - particularly as part of a joint enterprise must expect - and will receive - very extreme punishments.”
“You each harboured an intention to kill if trouble arose. The consequence was merely an overture to what happened.”
“This was a joint enterprise, in which you all participated, and each of you had a clear intention to kill”
Detailing the circumstances of the shocking shooting, Judge Richardson continued: “That evening, you travelled from Rotherham to Doncaster. Each of you knew of the presence of a firearm in the hands of one of you. You also knew of the knife in the hands of another.
“The plan was to steal from a cannabis factory...you were armed for trouble.
“I can be sure - as were the jury - that you knew of the gun and the fiream and intended for either or both to be used to kill a human being who got in your way.
“You mistakenly thought two men who had been at the nearby party were involved at the cannabis factory. An altercation erupted, and both weapons were used.”
The court heard how, with the exception of Oates, all of the defendants had limited criminal records prior to the shooting.
Judge Richardson said, however, each of the men had “plunged” themselves into exceptionally serious criminality, a rate of “nought to 60.”
“It was as if each of you were tiptoeing on the edge of a volcano to a greater or lesser extent, and then plunged - headlong - into it by committing these crimes,” he added.
“Attempted murder has been committed by you all in respect of two men, one of whom was grievously injured."
Judge Richardson said it was not possible to know which of the four defendants, each of whom appeared in the dock flanked by security guards on either side, had fired the 9mm Makarov semi-automatic pistol.
He agreed with prosecutor Stephen Wood KC, however, that each of the defendants “were in it together.”
The group carried out the shooting moments after arriving on the scene in a Nissan X-trail motor car, on Bentley Road, Doncaster, a short distance away from the cannabis factory they set out to rob.
The two victims had been attending a house party, and came out onto the street for a cigarette when a series of five shots were fired, leaving one man seriously injured.
The first victim was both stabbed and shot, suffering two gunshot wounds to his lower abdomen, and two wounds just above his left buttock, one of which is believed to have been caused by a gunshot, and the other with a blade
In a statement read during a sentencing hearing held on April 17, 2026, the first victim revealed that he was “crippled” in the immediate wake of the shooting, and had to teach himself how to walk again.
The man, who was just 24-years-old when he suffered the catalogue of serious injuries, said doctors told him he would have been left paralysed, had the bullets fired at him been any bigger.
He described his long and difficult recovery journey since the shooting in August 2021. The man said the ordeal had not only taken a toll on his mental health, leaving him with post-traumatic stress disorder, but has also impacted on his career in that he has missed out on a promotion after being forced to miss a period of work.
Another shot was fired at the second victim, whilst he was making a phone call, holding his phone to his ear.
The bullet was travelling towards his head, but “ricocheted” off his phone, miraculously resulting in him escaping the ordeal with just a few minor injuries to his hand.
The four defendants were each found guilty of attempted murder and conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life at the conclusion of a trial at the same court.
Sentences passed down
Judge Richardson passed down the following sentences to the four men:
Samuel Jebson, aged 25, formerly of Fretwell Road, East Herringthorpe, Rotherham was jailed for 31 years.
Oliver Jebson, aged 28, also formerly of Fretwell Road, East Herringthorpe, Rotherham, jailed for 31 years.
Paul Oates, aged 40, formerly of Western Road, East Dene, Rotherham, was jailed for 32 years.
Callum Rogers, aged 35, formerly of Beauchamp Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, was jailed for 31 years.
Judge Richardson said he regarded the measures the four men took to conceal their involvement in the serious shooting - which included changing clothes and disposing of the vehicle and firearm - to be aggravating factors.
Mr Wood told the court that the firearm ”only came to light” and was subsequently recovered by police during a stop and search of another vehicle, as part of investigations into an unrelated incident.
Mitigating for Oates, Jason Pitter KC, argued that the shooting occurred “spontaneously,” and as such it was not necessary for there to be the “additional management” of his client through an extended sentence.
Mr Pitter also suggested that by the time Oates is released from custody he will be “approaching his more senior years.”
Nicholas Rhodes KC, representing Rogers, referred Judge Richardson to references prepared on his behalf.
“The offences are out of character, when one looks at his background,” Mr Rhodes told the court.
But Judge Richardson said Rogers going from a limited criminal history to committing “exceptionally serious” offences was also of concern to the court.
“He’s plunged himself into very serious criminality extremely rapidly indeed,” he added.
“The circumstances of this crime reveal the preparedness to involve themselves in this sort of criminality…they’ve gone from nought to 60 very quickly.”
Representing Oliver Jebson, Richard Thyne KC told the court his client was just 24-years-old “and immature” at the time of the offences.
Jamie Hill KC, representing Samuel Jebson, asked Judge Richardson to consider the four-year delay in the case.
He said his client - just 20 at the time of the offences - has lived a fifth of his life “under the shadow of this one night of extreme folly.”