VIDEO: Armed rapper sentenced to eight years in jail following dramatic police chase in London

An armed rapper, who was chased by London police last year, has now been sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison. Bodycam and CCTV footage revealed how the 23-year-old man, named Ellis Heather, tried to escape police officials by hiding in a garden of a residential building.

Now, he has been sentenced for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, alongside a concurrent sentence of five years for possessing a prohibited firearm.

Dramatic chase by police officials

Add WION as a Preferred Source

It was on October 22 of last year when plainclothes police officials observed Heather’s suspicious behaviour. He was riding in a black Mercedes in Ladbroke Grove while wearing a black open-faced balaclava. When police officials decided to halt the vehicle, Heather quickly accelerated, evading the police and initiating a chase that ultimately came to a halt on St Marks Road.

Seizing the opportunity, Heather swiftly exited the car and took off on foot. The pursuing officers later apprehended Heather at the front garden of a nearby residence.

Heather was carrying a firearm

As Heather ran, he threw away a gun that he was carrying mid-way, which was later recovered by police. Forensic investigators were able to confirm that Heather had been in possession of the weapon.

Watch:Apple faces legal setback as London court upholds infringement claims

Although the pistol had initially been designed as a blank-and-gas gun, it had been illegally converted into a functional firearm. Loaded with six bullets, it posed a legitimate threat.

‘Great example of proactive patrolling’

Detective Constable Tom Harris, from the Met's specialist crime, lauded the officers involved for proactive patrolling based on their feeling that “something was not right”.

He said, “As a result of that professional curiosity a lethal firearm has been removed from the streets, no doubt meaning a life has been saved somewhere down the line.”

"The Met is utterly committed to bearing down on firearms. Anyone else concerned in the use of them can be assured that they too, like Heather, could find themselves going to prison," he added.

Chief Superintendent Louise Puddefoot, local policing commander for Kensington and Chelsea, said, "As the Commissioner said recently, everyday officers step forward into uncertainty, with the sole focus of keeping Londoners safe.”

WATCH WION LIVE HERE