Man accused of killing Newport dad was 'taken aback' by murder arrest, court hears

A man accused of robbing and killing a young dad in Newport has told a court he was "a bit taken aback" to be arrested on suspicion of murder.

Joseph Jeremy, 18, was one of five men arrested following the death of Ryan O'Connor last year.

Mr O'Connor, a 26-year-old father, was found unresponsive on Balfe Road in Alway just after 9pm on June 10. He had suffered stab wounds and was later pronounced dead.

The prosecution say his death was a "murder that arose out of a robbery" after five men decided to take a Gucci bag that Mr O'Connor was carrying.

Joseph Jeremy, Lewis Aquilina, Elliott Fiteni, Kyle Rasis and Ethan Strickland are all on trial charged with murder, manslaughter and robbery.

Giving evidence, Mr Jeremy, who was 17 at the time, told the court how he and the other defendants were driven from Cardiff to Newport by Mr Aquilina, 20, on the evening of June 10.

Three of them - Jeremy, 18-year-old Rasis, and Ethan Strickland, who was 19 - were carrying knives and all five men were wearing balaclavas, the court heard.

Mr Jeremy told the jury he was wearing a balaclava because he was "wanted" for cutting off an ankle tag.

Questioned by defence barrister Jonathan Rees QC, he said that during the course of the journey, Eliott Fiteni, 20, had asked to see his knife. Mr Jeremy says he gave it to him, and didn't get it back.

The defendant said he'd never met Mr Fiteni in person. He told the court he'd heard his co-defendant "smoked crack and robbed cars to pay for it."

Mr Jeremy also told the jury that he'd been assaulted by Mr Aquilina during a previous meeting.

In Newport, Mr Jeremy described how Mr Aquilina stopped the car suddenly at a junction by the Balfe Road roundabout and jumped out, followed shortly by Mr Fiteni.

The defendant described how the pair returned "about 30 seconds later" and that he didn't see what took place outside the car.

He told the jury that he didn't know if Mr Fiteni had taken his knife with him, but that he couldn't see it on the passenger seat.

Mr Jeremy then described how Mr Aquilina turned the car round and returned past the roundabout, slowing down while he and Mr Fiteni laughed at something outside. He said he couldn't see what they were laughing at.

The defendant told the jury he later became aware of a Gucci bag hanging around the neck of Mr Rasis, and took a cigarette out of the bag to smoke.

Later, he said Mr Fiteni became angry after receiving a phone call to say that a man was talking to his sister in another part of Cardiff, and threatened "to stab" the man.

The five defendants were on their way to the Llanrumney area of the city when police started chasing them, eventually using a stinger to deflate the car's tyres.

Mr Jeremy told the court he 'live-streamed' his arrest on a mobile phone because he was worried he might be tasered, and claimed officers had used "excessive force" with him on a previous occasion.

Asked if he at any point intended for Mr O'Connor to come to any harm or death, Mr Jeremy replied: "No."

Mr Jeremy admitted to buying knives and a long-handled machete in the days leading up to the incident. 

Newport Crown Court had previously heard telephone evidence showed that Mr Jeremy, Mr Rasis and Mr Strickland had a "significant interest in bladed weapons."

For the prosecution, Michael Brady QC said there was no evidence to suggest the defendants knew Mr O'Connor, but the prosecution believed they travelled to Newport to commit crime and, on seeing Mr O'Connor, decided to rob him.

He said: "The Crown cannot say whether that was the plan, or it was agreed en route, but what is clear is the defendants left Cardiff armed with three knives and travelled in a stolen car on cloned number plates.

"Once they chose their target, Mr O'Connor was dealt with swiftly and brutally."

All five defendants deny murder, manslaughter and robbery. The trial, which is expected to last up to eight weeks, continues.