‘I hate the man’, accused says of former flatmate
THE president of the Plymouth chapter of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club told a court he ‘hated’ a former colleague who drove a Transit van into – and then over – a 59-yearold grandfather, killing him.
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 the St Budeaux junction in Plymouth on the evening of May 12 this year. At the time he was stationary, alongside a black Mercedes which had pulled up alongside him on the on-slip.
Benjamin Parry, aged 42, of Wright Close, 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.
During cross-examination, fatherof-three Brading, who had taken to the witness box in his defence, railed against his former club ‘brother’ and flatmate.
At one point, he exclaimed “I’m an innocent man” before indicating towards Parry in the dock and insulting him. He reminded the jury that Parry had made a full admission in court of killing Mr Crawford. He went on to say that Parry had “ruined two people’s lives” as well as “ruined Mr Crawford’s family’s lives”.
He said Parry was the cause of him being “taken away from my daughters” before angrily stating “I hate the man!”
Qualifying his observation, Brading reiterated that Parry was “not a violent man” but said he had messed up “once again”.
Earlier in his evidence, he said that he joined the club because it was the “closest thing you get from the military”, adding that it was run by rules and that “you live by laws and respect”. He added that you “don’t cheat, lie or steal from your brothers”.
The court heard that Brading had joined the Parachute Regiment after leaving Eggbuckland School, serving from July 2002 to September 2007, with active service in Northern Ireland and two tours of Afghanistan, and was a member of the Special Forces Support Group who undertook training of Afghan locals against Taliban insurgents.
In 2011, he left the Army and joined the private military sector “for financial gain”, carrying out close protection work with Aegis Defence Services Ltd, working as a security escort to US military and civilians carrying our rebuilding work in Iraq. From there, he went on to work in marine security, taking part in anti-piracy security on oil platforms and tankers in the Indian Ocean.
His barrister, Joseph Stone KC, noted that in 2006, when Brading was 21, he was given a caution for obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty. In 2008, he was fined £800 for being found in possession of 0.5 grams of cocaine. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm after an incident in a nightclub where he punched a man in the head. As a result, he was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work and pay £2,500 compensation. As a result, he lost his licence to carry out close protection work and had to change careers, returning to college to learn carpentry.
He said his role as president of the club was an elected role, with elections each year. His role was to chair the meetings and act as “elected spokesperson”.
He described the hours leading up to Mr Crawford’s death, when two motorcycle groups were both in the same ‘territory’ off the A38 in Plymouth.
He insisted there was no intention of violence on his part, but that he and co-defendant Pawley intended to tell members of the rival gang they were “not welcome in Plymouth”.
Asked why, when he saw Mr Crawford had been hit and clearly injured by Parry’s van, he did not stop to help, he said he “flapped” and wanted to get as far away as possible.
He insisted there was no intention of violence, adding: “They know they’re not meant to be in our city wearing their colours.”
Prosecutor Paul Cavin KC noted various weapons – a extendable baton, a lump hammer and baseball bat – in the Mercedes, alleging that it was clear he, Pawley and Parry intended to cause a Red Chiefs member serious harm.
Brading scoffed at the allegation, saying that “if that was a plan, it was the most ill-conceived plan in history” adding “that’s an insult to common sense”.
Asked why he effectively destroyed his own mobile phone, Brading said that he did not want police seeing pictures of his wife.
The trial continues.