This Week in Court: Mason McLean’s victim was still fighting for his life in hospital when police came knocking at his door months later
05:00, 09 May 2026
Mason McLean(Image: Merseyside Police)
A teenage drug dealer’s criminal exploits continued in spite of him having left a man with devastating injuries which ruined his life. Cole Moore was aged just 20 when he was thrown from the back of a van as he tried to stop Mason McLean stealing his motorbike from outside his home.
While he was still in hospital months later “unable to undertake the most basic human functions”, having undergone more than a dozen brain surgeries, the thug who left him in that state was caught hurling a bag full of cannabis and cash into his next door neighbour’s garden when police came knocking. This week he was told he would spend only a few extra weeks behind bars as a result of his latest drug conviction.
The ECHO previously reported when McLean was initially locked up in February last year that the then 19-year-old travelled from Liverpool to Southport alongside Dylan Tollitt and Leroy Agatha on the evening of July 19 2024 in a white Peugeot Boxer van. They were seen outside Cole Moore’s home on the Promenade shortly after 7.45pm. They drove past the house several times before entering the driveway at around 8.20pm.
They placed Mr Moore’s £8,000 motorcycle in the back of the van before he realised what was happened and tried to stop them. This led to him falling from the rear of their van, the thieves having left the doors open after leaving “in a rush”, as it turned onto Leyland Road.
Megan Cox, prosecuting, described how Mr Moore suffered a “catastrophic” brain injury in the process, leaving him unable to communicate or eat and “barely able” to drink. He remained in hospital as of early last year while requiring “around the clock care”.
At this stage, the mechanic had undergone brain surgery 14 times, with a 15th operation having been scheduled for the following months. These procedures included a craniectomy, in which part of the skull is removed in order to relieve pressure on the brain.
Mr Moore also suffered a broken neck and punctured lung. In a statement which was read out to the court on his behalf, his dad Andrew Moore said: “Despite his multiple surgeries, he remains unable to perform basic tasks.
“Cole was at the beginning of his adult life. He has qualified as a mechanic and had a successful job interview with Mercedes, his dream employer. He was training as a powerlifter and taught himself to play guitar.
“This attack has left my son unable to engage with the world as he once did. His once bright and hopeful demeanour has been replaced by sadness, confusion and frustration.
“It is heart breaking to witness his struggle and know he cannot fully comprehend why this happened to him. Our family is overwhelmed with grief, anger and a sense of helplessness. We are a very close-knit family and had so many plans made already. Time has stood still for us all.
“I have been by Cole’s bedside since the incident and watch him battle to survive on a daily basis. I look at my boy and see him every day with his skull missing. He looks at me and tries to smile. It’s heart breaking.
“Before this, my son was an active and sociable young man. Now he’s confined to a hospital bed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If Cole survives, he has most probably completely lost his independence.”
Explaining why he did not attend the sentencing, he said: “The faces of the guilty parties and their families will remain with me. I would rather spend more time with my son.”
Agatha took a taxi to McDonald’s at Kew Retail Park in the aftermath of the theft, and was later joined by McLean and Tollitt in the van. All three were captured on camera inside the branch before returning to Nolan Street, where they had stashed the bike.
Leroy Agatha(Image: Merseyside Police)
McLean and Tollitt left in the van with the stolen motorbike in it. Agatha, of Upper Frederick Street in Liverpool city centre, took a taxi.
The then 23-year-old was handed three years behind bars after admitting conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Tollitt, then aged 24 and of Grafton Street in Dingle, also pleaded guilty to two drug supply offences and was handed four years and four months.
McLean received six years and eight months in a young offenders’ institute, having also admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving. One woman put her head in her hands and burst into tears in the public gallery as he learned his fate as he shouted “love you mum” before being led to the cells. One supporter told him: “You’re sound, see you lad.”
Dylan Tollitt(Image: Merseyside Police)
The same court heard on Thursday this week that, six months after the night that changed Mr Moore’s life, police carried out a searach at the McLean’s family home on Gilbert Street in the city centre on December 27 2024, at which stage one officer saw Mason McLean leaning out of a rear first storey window before throwing a bag into the garden of a neighbouring property. When recovered, this was found to contain 102g of cannabis and £1,000 in cash.
Mike Stevenson, appearing for the prosecution during McLean’s latest appearance, outlined how police entered the house and restrained the occupants following a brief struggle. Further quantities of cannabis, more than £4,000 in cash and a large quantity of snap bags were recovered.
Two more bags were found by bins in the garden, with hundreds more snap bags found in one and the other containing two bars of cannabis resin and a set of scales bearing traces of the drug. In total, Merseyside Police seized 515g of cannabis and 194g of cannabis resin, worth around £7,000. His dad Bernard McLean “announced that all of the cannabis recovered was his responsibility” as officers conducted their searches.
Mason McLean’s counsel Jason Smith told the court that his client remained a serving prisoner in relation to the theft of the motorbike and injuries suffered by Mr Moore. He added of the present case “This offence goes back to when he was 19 years of age. It took 12 months for the prosecution to bring these allegations against him. Its quite bizarre that it did take so long to charge these defendants with these offences.
“He is working hard during that sentence. He is doing the rehabilitation courses that he needs to do. It is hoped that he will be in a position to be released on tag towards the end of this year. He is still a young man. He is looking towards his release date.
“The court can stand back and approach this case perhaps unusually. To allow him to carry on his work in prison and be released with that work being undertaken is important. In my submission, the sentence that can be imposed today is one that allows that to take place and is made concurrent to the sentence that is currently being served.”
Bernard McLean, appearing in court the day before his 46th birthday, admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply and possession of criminal property. He was handed a 15-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months.
Mason McLean pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis. The now 21-year-old was handed an additional two months behind bars, reduced from a 10-month sentence he would have otherwise received but for his existing jail term.
Mason McLean(Image: Merseyside Police)
Sentencing, Recorder Ben Lawrence told Bernard McLean: “You have no qualifications and you have rarely worked. You have adult children and are said to play an active part in their lives. You still smoke cannabis daily, which you say assists your mental health issues.
“The experience of the court is that smoking cannabis generally does not assist mental health. I have read a reference from a man called Peter Duncan. He appears to be a neighbour. He says that you do volunteer locally and describes you as a good person.
“Mason McLean, your counsel relies on your age, the delay in charging you and the fact that you have done courses and are generally spending your time wisely. Bernard McLean, you take the main responsibility for the cannabis. It may well be that you are motivated in part by trying to protect your son. The amount of cash suggests that this was a busy drug supply operation.
“I have considered the imposition guideline and take into account your lack of previous drug supply offences, your low risk to others and your previous good performance on community orders. I take the view that the sentence can be suspended. You need to try help yourself. If you work with probation, it will hopefully stop you coming back to court in the future.”
Mason McLean, who appeared via video link from HMP Berwyn, gave a thumbs up to the judge and said “thank you” as the case was concluded. Appearing in the dock wearing a blue Hugo Boss polo shirt, Bernard McLean added: “Thank you, your honour.”