Offender jailed for pointing loaded gun at police officer while trying to flee justice

A man who pointed a gun at police officers and a member of the public has been jailed.

Jay Conway (02/11/1992), of Leicester Walk, Salford, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm without a licence, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and assault of an emergency worker.

He also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A and class B drugs.

He was sentenced to 14 years in prison with an addition two years on licence when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court today (06/03/26).

Salford Challenger officers patrolling Albert Park in plain clothes on Tuesday 20 May 2025 spotted a man riding an e-bike and wearing a balaclava.

They attempted to detain the man but he fled, brandishing what officers believed to be a pistol in the process.

The suspect, later identified as Conway, stole a bike and cycled on to Great Clowes Street, where a neighbourhood officer heading towards the incident attempted to detain him.

When Conway resisted, the officer deployed his Taser but he drew the pistol for a second time, pointing it at the officer and also at a member of the public.

He dropped the firearm – later confirmed as a viable, loaded pistol – and a mobile phone, and fled for a second time.

A fast-paced and thorough investigation by Salford Challenger Team and our Critical Wanted Unit involving forensic analysis of the phone and CCTV identified Conway as the suspect and he was arrested by armed officers the following day in Whalley Range, Manchester.

Detective Superintendent Simon Moyles said: "We identified Conway as the suspect and declared him a critical target.

"The Force Critical Wanted Unit worked tirelessly to bring him to justice, employing a wide range of proactive tactics.

"The team, alongside the wider SOCG family at GMP, demonstrated unwavering dedication in their efforts to apprehend the offender.

"Through the use of proactive and covert strategies, we have shown how relentlessly we will pursue a target once they are adopted by our team."

Between April 2024 and April 2025, we successfully took 86 firearms off Greater Manchester’s streets. Since April, another 27 have been recovered.

As a result of this work, there was a 59 per cent decrease in discharges over the past year (29) in comparison to 2021 (71), meaning the work we have done in recovering firearms has prevented critical incidents and potential lives have been saved.

In Salford, there has been just one firearms discharge this year compared to three last year and five the year before.

DS Moyles added: “Nobody – a police officer or a member of the public – should be confronted by a gun.

“These were frightening incidents and Conway is clearly a dangerous individual who is rightly serving a prison sentence.

“We need to commend and recognise our officers who showed immense bravery in trying to stop Conway.

“Guns have no place on our streets and the work we are doing in Salford - and across Greater Manchester - in relation to firearms incidents continues.

“If you know anyone who is using, or possesses, an illegal firearm, we urge you to get in touch with us as, for each firearm we recover, that’s potentially a life saved.”

'I was staring down the barrel of the firearm'

One of the police officers who tackled an armed man in Salford feared he might die.

PC Dan Clayton and two of his Salford Challenger colleagues attempted to arrest Jay Conway as he fled armed with a gun in May. All three will now be put forward for GMP commendations.

PC Clayton chased down Conway on Great Clowes Street and deployed his Taser in an attempt to subdue him.

The Taser didn't work properly and as he fell to the ground, Conway pulled the gun and pointed it at PC Clayton.

PC Clayton's training kicked in and he managed to take cover behind a parked car, and also had the presence of mind to recover the gun.

PC Clayton, who works for the Salford North Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Some officers were patrolling the par in plain clothes, and we were nearby.

“As the suspect left the park I happened to be in the right place and just started to chase him.

“At that point I didn’t know he had a gun – another 30 seconds and I wouldn’t have the left the police car.

“I tried to arrest him and used my Taser but once I saw the gun, I just tried to take cover behind a parked car as there wasn’t too much else to hide behind.

"I was staring down the barrel of the firearm and all I could think about was my pregnant wife and that I might never get to see my baby."

PC Clayton spent three years on response before moving into neighbourhood policing.

He added: “We are well trained at GMP in how to pursue and arrest people but sometimes that goes out of the window, and you do whatever you can in the moment.

“My instinct is always to chase and detain suspects.

“Straight after the incident I was shaking and sweating, and back at the station what happened really hit me.

“The gun was loaded and only a few feet away, so the outcome could have been so much worse.

“I was offered time off, but I still came into work the following day. I was also offered welfare support but I find it easier to speak to people I know who are closer to me.

“It really hit me four or five days later when I had trouble sleeping and took a week of compassionate leave to sort my head out.

“In the moment, you don’t always think about your actions, you just get on and do your job."

Chief Superintendent Neil Blackwood, district commander for Salford, said: “The officers all showed commendable bravery in the face of extreme danger and I will be nominating all three for bravery awards.

“They ran towards danger rather than away in their roles to protect the public and keep people safe.

“Our officers face dangers day in, day out and are trained to the highest standards but this was an extreme and fortunately rare incident.”

Proud of our officers

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said: "I want to commend the bravery of our officers on duty that day and they will be forwarded for bravery awards.

"I am proud of our officers - they acted courageously to confront an armed man, who is now rightly behind bars.

"Fortunately, this is a rare event and it's rare because of the work we have been doing for a number of years, by listening and acting on the concerns of the public.

"You've told us you want us to focus on local, community issues so have invested heavily and increased the number of officers on neighbourhood teams.

"Across Manchester, our officers confront dangerous people, day in, day out.

"We are prepared to put our ourselves between the public and criminals to keep people safe."