Biker death trial told of uncontested facts in case
THE prosecution case in the trial of three men accused of murdering a 59-year-old grandfather has come to a close.
David Crawford, from Ivybridge, died after his black Kawasaki motorbike was struck from behind by a Ford Transit van on the A38 on-slip at St Budeaux junction on the evening of May 12. At the time he was stationary, alongside a black Mercedes which had pulled up alongside him on the onslip.
Benjamin Parry, aged 42, of Wright Close in Devonport, was driving the van at the time while Chad Brading, aged 36 of Wright Close, Devonport, and Thomas Pawley, aged 32 of Heather Walk, Ivybridge, were in the Mercedes car. All three have denied the charge of murder by joint enterprise.
Simon Jones, for the Crown Prosecution Service, told the jury at Plymouth Crown Court a series of agreed facts about the case which were not contested by the defence.
He noted how a piece of paper, found in Parry’s jacket when he was arrested, had three phone numbers written on it – Brading’s, Pawley’s and another man called Grant Cooper. Officers also found a set of keys to a property in Wright Close, Devonport – where Perry and Brading lived – in a welly outside the front door.
Officers also found the front grille and number plate from the white Ford Transit van which struck Mr Crawford, around 15 metres from the biker’s powerful 2,000cc black Kawasaki motorcycle.
Mr Jones noted how during a search of Brading’s bedroom officers found a red A4 plastic display book with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club European ‘bible’ – the nickname for the club’s rulebook. There they also found a black A4 folder with a sticker bearing the name ‘Bandidos Motorcycle Club Southern Scandinavian’ in the same room.
Mr Jones said it was not contested that officers found an extendable baton and a wooden lump hammer in the boot of Pawley’s Mercedes car, and a recently-bought claw hammer in a cardboard box on the back seat. Doorbell video footage from near Pawley’s Ivybridge home showed a baseball bat being taken from the passenger seat footwell into his house after they returned to his home following the incident on the A38 on-slip.
The jury was also shown images of the Bandidos waistcoats seized from the homes of Brading, Pawley and Parry, as well as photos from Parry’s Facebook page showing him wearing his club jacket.
Mr Jones noted that Brading had previously pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a notice under Section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. This relates to where a request to provide a password or PIN to a mobile phone to allow access has been refused by the phone’s owner. The jury was told that Parry refused to provide a PIN to his Apple iPhone. Mr Jones also reminded the jury that Parry’s phone underwent a factory reset at 9.28pm and eight seconds on May 12 – around an hour after the collision.
He noted that Parry suffered hearing loss and wore hearing aids he had been given in March 2022 and he also suffered a lung complaint since 2015.
He said Pawley had no convictions, no cautions and no police warnings.
The jury was told it was not contested that Pawley’s mobile phone, seized on May 14, had had its entire call history deleted.
Dashcam and CCTV analysis, the jury was told, revealed that Crawford arrived at the A38 on-slip at St Budeaux 25 seconds before the collision, with Pawley and Brading in the Mercedes arriving 23 seconds before the collision.
The trial continues.