Prison officer shot dead ‘in cold blood’ after uncovering prisoner affair

Criminal who shot dead the prison officer who found an illicit phone in his jail cell has been jailed for life with a minimum 45 years before parole
(Picuture: PA / Lancashire Police)

A gangland killer who shot dead a prison officer who seized an illicit phone from his cell has been jailed for a minimum of 45 years.

Elias Morgan, 35, waited four years to take revenge on Lenny Scott, 33, who he shot six times outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, in February 2024.

Morgan first tried to bribe Scott with £1,500 not to report the prohibited phone in his cell at HMP Altcourse, Merseyside.

When the prison officer refused and reported the item, Morgan vowed ‘I’ll bide my time’ while making a gun gesture and threatening Scott’s family.

Lenny Scott was shot dead four years after he seized the illicit phone
(Picture: Lancashire Police)

The killer carried out that threat almost four years later, once he had completed his sentence and after Scott had left the prison service.

The seized phone later led investigators to discover that Morgan was in a sexual relationship with a female prison officer, Preston Crown Court heard.

Lancashire Police said former prison officer Lenny Scott was murdered in a ‘vengeful and cold blooded assassination’.

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Wilson told reporters outside Preston Crown Court: ‘Lenny was murdered by Elias Morgan in a vengeful and cold-blooded assassination.

‘It is one of the most callous, brutal and inhumane things I have ever seen in my 30 years as a police officer. He gave Lenny no quarter.’

Mr Wilson called Mr Scott a ‘man of integrity’ who ‘did the right thing in challenging circumstances’ while working at HMP Altcourse in Merseyside.

He added: ‘It was this that cost him his life.

‘After seizing an illicitly held mobile phone from prisoner Elias Morgan, Lenny resisted bribes and threats made towards him.

‘These threats including the chilling phrase: ‘I’ll bide my time, but I promise I will get you’.

‘Morgan unfortunately made good on this threat, waiting four years to take his revenge on Lenny.’

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