Convicted murderer now guilty of dealing firearms in prison

Already sentenced to life in prison for two murders in London, 34-year-old William McDonald continued to add to his already lengthy criminal record while behind bars at Collins Bay Prison.

Charged several months ago as part of a 70-man sting operation involving firearms trafficking, MacDonald, who was born and raised in London, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sell firearms to an unnamed person.

In finding him guilty, Judge Kelly Gorman told MacDonald: “It is amazing to me that you, while serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, could attempt to broker the sale of firearms.”

MacDonald was involved in two high-profile murder cases in London.

In 2020, he was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his former friend Emmanuel Avai. He was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his Connaught Avenue apartment in 2016.

Then, 12 months later, McDonald was again found guilty of second-degree murder, this time for the murder of Jonathan Zack, who was killed while simply walking home alone after a games night with friends through a park in northeast London in 2012.

For his latest conviction, MacDonald was sentenced to three years in prison, to be served consecutively after his murder conviction.

Before summing up, Judge Gorman told him: “I recommend that you keep your head down, sir. I suspect all eyes will be on you for the remainder of your time at Collins Bay, so it’s best to take the straight line.”

The court heard MacDonald’s life sentence was under appeal.