Innocent bystander shot dead by drug dealers outside Wakefield garage in targeted drive-by, court told
A bystander was killed on a Wakefield street by drug dealers who carried out drive-by shooting, a court has been told.
Fifty-year-old Dale Stogden, known as Brett, died from a single shot to the chest.
Leyton Davies, Marc Carter and Adam Ahmed admit being in the stolen Toyota Rav 4 at the time of the shooting, with Davies even admitting he was the gunman.
But all three have denied murder and are standing trial at Leeds Crown Court.
Opening the case for the Crown, Peter Moulson KC said the intended targets were two brothers who happened to be standing close to Mr Stogden at the time of the shooting.
He said the Toyota they used had been stolen during a burglary at a property in Castleford nine days before the shooting.
It was also on cloned plates.
Mr Moulson said CCTV showed the vehicle cruising the area on the afternoon of August 12, hours before the murder. He says the Crown’s case is that they were searching for their intended targets.
They gave up, but then resumed the search that evening, eventually finding the two brothers outside the BP garage at 9.38pm.
With 21-year-old Ahmed driving, and 20-year-old Carter in the passenger seat, Davies was sat behind the passenger seat armed with the gun.
CCTV played to the jury showed the vehicle mount the kerb and from the lowered rear window, 28-year-old Davies fired the single shot which struck Mr Stogden.
On foot, the two brothers then briefly chased after the Toyota, which could be heard screeching away, before they ran down Fall Ings Road.
Mr Stogden suffered a single shot to the chest with a “7.5mm metal sphere” projectile that caused “catastrophic internal and external bleeding” and he was declared dead at Pinderfields Hospital at 10.31pm.
Mr Moulson said all three suspects were arrested three days later and they each refused to answer police questions during multiple interviews.
The gun was never recovered, but Mr Moulson said that all three now admit to being in the car during the shooting.
Ahmed, of Edgemoor Road, Hall Green, and homeless Carter deny they knew that Davies had the gun on him.
Davies, of Hillcrest Avenue, Ossett, accepts he fired the gun, but claims it was to simply “scare” the two brothers.
Mr Moulson said: “Their intention was to inflict at least grievous bodily harm on one or both of the brothers.”
He said they took steps to prepare the attack, with Ahmed seen putting a machete into his waistband before setting off the find the brothers.
He said they had concealed the vehicle with cloned plates and had each turned their phones off to avoid being tracked by a cell tower to a location.
Mr Moulson said that all three defendants have admitted a charge conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
The murder trial, which is expected to last up to three weeks, continues.