Cocaine-robbing murderer warned he was going to “hurt someone” before stabbing Gosport drug runner
A cocaine-robbing murderer who boasted he stabbed a drug runner had earlier warned he was going to “hurt someone” that night, a court heard.
Jurors at Portsmouth Crown Court were told how Tommy West, 18, and his brother Aiden West, 24, went armed with knives and faces covered as they planned to rob Levi Kent, 22, of cocaine on November 24 last year.
Levi was lured to shops behind Nobes Avenue to sell cocaine after refusing to defer payment. He was knifed by Tommy West while in his Vauxhall Corsa which “blew up” after crashing into a wall and garages as he attempted to escape. The brothers then chased Levi to nearby Keyes Road where he collapsed in the street.
Tommy West, of Fisgard Road, Gosport, has admitted murder, robbery and possession of a blade. His half-brother Aiden West, of Tudor Close, Gosport, denies murder and possession of a blade.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard how the West brothers went to Kylie Mancell’s flat at Dundas House in James Close after her friend she was with had invited them over. Giving evidence to the court, an emotional Ms Mancell said she was aware of the West brothers' plan to carry out a robbery but did not think anyone was meant to get killed.
Referring to Tommy West, she said: “I remember Tommy standing in the hall saying he was going to hurt someone that night.” She added: “(Tommy West) did not say he was going to kill someone, just that he was going to rob them.” He had said the knife was for “protection”.
Aiden West’s defence barrister Philippa Mcatasney asked Ms Mancell if she knew about Tommy West seeking revenge, with the lawyer saying: “There was talk Levi had bumped him off from some drug deal he had done?” But the witness replied: “I don’t remember Tommy saying that.”
Following the murder, Ms Mancell recalled Tommy West saying he had stabbed Levi five times while he was in the car and had later got changed into his mum Joanne West’s trousers and tops back at Ms Mancell’s flat. The witness said Joanne West had stayed over at her flat the previous couple of nights and described their relationship as being “drug users together”.
The witness and lawyer then clashed over whether Aiden West had washed his clothes when returning from the killing. “Aiden asked (the) next door (neighbour) to wash his clothes,” Ms Mancell said.
Ms Mcatasney then hit back saying “that’s a lie” and accusing Ms Mancell of being “completely wrong” before the witness replied: “It’s not a lie. I was there, you weren’t.”
When asked if she saw Aiden West with a knife, Ms Mancell said she “can’t remember, it’s a blur”, before the barrister responded: “I suggest you are confused about Aiden having a knife. At no point did he have a knife?” But the witness, who believed the defendant put the knife in a neighbour’s cupboard, said: “Yes he did have a knife.” She also recalled seeing blood on Aiden West but no injuries.
After the West brothers had returned from the killing Ms Mancell denied smoking crack cocaine with them and her friend and said had gone to Asda in Fareham to meet a dealer where she “scored my own drugs”.
The case also includes other people who have admitted offences or been charged. Peter West, 42, of Fisgard Road, and Michael Figgins, 64, of St Ann's Crescent, are also on trial, with each charged with two counts of assisting an offender.
Other people in the matter include the brothers’ mother Joanne West, 45, of no fixed address, who has admitted two counts of assisting an offender. Liam Savage, 37, of Trinity Green in Gosport, has also admitted two counts of assisting an offender.
Sarah Flynn, 36, of James Close in Gosport, was charged with two counts of assisting an offender.
(Proceeding)