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Man driving BMW like a 'maniac' caused fatal crashShaun Walker crashed into a bridge at 100mph after speeding out of a petrol station 'like a racing driver coming out of the
pits'CommentsNewsAdam Everett Crown Court Reporter17:24, 01 Jun 2025Shaun Walker pictured when he was jailed in 2012(Image: Police handout) The dad behind the EncroChat handle "Rock Killer"
caused a fatal crash after crashing into a bridge at 100mph while driving a BMW like "a maniac". Shaun Walker failed to return from a family holiday to Spain as the net closed in on his
heroin, cocaine and cannabis supply line, the tentacles of which spread across the country.
His illicit business proved to be so lucrative that he moaned to his contacts that he had only taken £350,000 over the course of five months, having apparently been able to net such sums in
a matter of weeks previously. After fleeing abroad following the takedown of the network by French police, he confessed: "I was selling gear then, and I'm selling gear now" when he was
finally arrested years later.
Liverpool Crown Court heard last week that Walker, of Riverbank Road in Garston, operated under the handle "RockKiller" before the encrypted messaging platform was infiltrated by law
enforcement agencies during 2020. The 42-year-old's messages thereafter showed that he had "run an operation engaged in the distribution of wholesale amounts of class A and B drugs",
including 26kg of heroin and cocaine.
Stella Hayden, prosecuting, described his business as having been "well established" by the spring of that year, with the details of 27 other users being stored in his contacts lists. Walker
was said to have been the head of a "busy business" with a "significant geographical reach", including the supply of drugs in the Ipswich and Plymouth areas.
The defendant also employed drivers to transport his goods and cash, doing so in vehicles with hidden compartments and using passwords during handovers in order to avoid detection by the
police. In one exchange with the handle "Weird Gun" on April 3, he said: "Bit of an emergency this. I just went to grab 3kg from one of my stashes and my mate moved it Tuesday night in case
the fella got coronavirus, because he's really ill. Then, Wednesday morning, plod have burst me mate's door, nicked him for recall 28 days."
Walker went on to tell "Zone Pizza" later the same day: "Honest mate, rat moved my jobs and got nicked for recall. I don't know where they are. I had seven kilos in Garston, but I don't know
where the f*** they are."
Article continues below During another conversation on April 7, he disclosed that he had calculated his takings since November 2019 as £359,500 but added: "That took us five months to get
in. That's not good that. The graft really did slow there. We had it doing that every six weeks."
After Walker was identified as being the Rock Killer account holder, Merseyside Police discovered that his family had returned from a holiday in Europe on June 5, 2021 but that he had failed
to board the flight home alongside them. A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued in November 2022, at which time he was believed to be residing in Spain.
He was only belatedly arrested on March 28 this year when officers raided an address on Moor View Terrace in Plymouth. Walker attempted to escape from their clutches via a downstairs window
at this time but was quickly detained by waiting PCs outside.
After being held, he admitted to having "four ounces of gear and four ounces of bash" and remarked: "I was selling gear then and I'm selling gear now. I'll be going guilty as soon as I can."
A total of 112g of heroin, worth an estimated £3,200, was subsequently seized from inside the property, as was 112g of an adulterant substance. Cash amounting to £2,380 was also found inside
a backpack.
Under interview, Walker "explained that he would buy heroin from Liverpool and transport it to Plymouth to sell" and said that he was owed £40,000 by others who worked in the trade. His
criminal record shows a total of 16 previous convictions for 28 offences, including receiving a six-year sentence at Exeter Crown Court in 2012 for causing death by dangerous driving.
The ECHO reported at the time that Walker accelerated to more than 100mph within a quarter of a mile after speeding out of a petrol station "like a racing driver coming out of the pits". The
then 29-year-old almost inevitably lost control of his BMW M5 sports car in torrential rain and crashed into the bridge on the A38 dual carriageway in Devon.
His back seat passenger, 21-year-old Steven Casey, from West Derby, died after being thrown from the wreckage. Walker and his front seat passenger meanwhile escaped without serious injury.
None of the three men, who had been travelling from Liverpool to Plymouth in order to visit friends at the time of the incident in February 2011, were wearing seatbelts. One witness, a
passenger in another car, recalled: "I felt a whoosh as the BMW went past, going 40 to 45 mph faster than us.
"I think it was being driven by a maniac. It was ridiculously fast and would have been dangerous if the road had been dry. In the wet, it was outrageous and suicidal."
Judge Francis Gilbert told Walker on this occasion: "What happened was entirely foreseeable and was foreseen by other drivers. You went out of that petrol station and accelerated as hard as
you could in a very powerful car.
"You were able to build up a speed that was extremely dangerous in the road conditions at the time, and that was the cause of the accident. The driving was very reckless, and it was entirely
foreseeable it would create a serious danger. This was greatly excessive speed well above the speed limit or what was appropriate for the conditions."
Shaun Walker pictured when he was jailed in 2012(Image: Police handout) Walker was later handed an additional six months behind bars in April 2018 for escaping from lawful custody. Jonathan
Duffy, defending, told the court during his latest appearance: "He accepts full and complete responsibility for his actions and knows that he has put himself in a difficult position. He is
deeply remorseful for his actions. He knows that he did wrong.
"It is right that he lived abroad for some time. During that time, much about his life has changed. His partner, who is in court, gave birth. They have got two children now.
"When he came back, the defendant accepts, regrettably, that, through people he was involved with in the south west, he did get involved but, in my submission, on a far lower scale. It is,
essentially, a street dealing operation."
Walker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis, possession of heroin with intent to supply and conspiracy to convert criminal property. Appearing via video link
to HMP Exeter on Thursday, May 22, he was jailed for 12 years.
Shaun Walker(Image: Merseyside Police) Wearing a light green Asics t-shirt, he nodded and replied: "Okay, your honour" while his mum said "Thank you, sir," from the public gallery.
Sentencing, Recorder Carwyn Cox said: "You had been involved in a significant operation of distributing wholesale amounts of class A and B drugs.
"Your business was well established. You were trading across the country to places such as Ipswich and Plymouth. The indication is that you were arranging the purchases and supply of
significant quantities of cocaine and heroin. In addition, you deployed others to carry out work on your behalf.
Article continues below "Clearly, this was a lucrative business that you were operating at that time. While attempts were made to try to find you, you remained out of the country. You did
return into the country by some method in the intervening period and found yourself in Plymouth. You attempted to escape briefly.
"You do have convictions for previous offences. However, I am satisfied that you do not have any previous offences on your record for anything of this nature. I am satisfied that this is a
case where the defendant is remorseful."