Jury retire to consider verdict over biker death
THE jury in the trial of three men jointly accused of murdering a biker on the A38 retired to consider their verdict yesterday, after being warned by the judge, Mr Justice Neil Garnham, that their role was to “disentangle the evidence”.
David Crawford, from Ivybridge, died after his black Kawasaki motorbike was struck by a Ford Transit van on the A38 on-slip at St Budeaux, 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.
Benjamin Parry, aged 42, of Wright Close, Devonport, was driving the van at the time, while Chad Brading, aged 36, also of Wright Close, Devonport, and Thomas Pawley, aged 32, of Heather Walk, Ivybridge, were in the Mercedes car.
All three men have denied the charge of murder by joint enterprise, although Parry has admitted manslaughter after the charge was formally put to him by the clerk of the court. However, the plea was not accepted by the prosecution.
Earlier in the trial, the jury was shown dashcam footage, taken from the Transit van driven by Parry, as it slammed into the rear wheel of Mr Crawford’s 2,000cc black Kawasaki. The footage also showed the black Mercedes beside it.
Summing up the case at Plymouth Crown Court, Mr Justice Garnham said the prosecution’s case was that Brading and Pawley saw Mr Crawford at the Tamar Bridge and followed him – and that they intended to follow him. The prosecution’s case was their intention was “obvious”.
Prosecutors said Parry’s actions were no accident, citing the speed increase before the collision, the look on his face on seeing his “target”, the Mercedes moving to one side, Parry not taking any steps to avoid the motorbike, and how it allowed the Mercedes to pass him by afterwards.
The judge said the prosecution’s case was it could not be a coincidence that all the parties came together at that moment and the previous movements of Brading, Parry and Pawley showed that they were in communication with each other.
He reminded the jury that Parry’s defence barrister had told the jury that his client was an “idiot” but also a “disarmingly honest idiot”. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in front of the jury. He said that coincidences do happen. He noted that Parry knew full well his vehicle had a tracker, dashcam and cabcam, adding that driving a works
van with such monitoring equipment was “hardly a proper weapon of choice” for such an alleged enterprise.
The judge also noted that at that time the sun would have been setting behind Parry and thus he may not have seen in his rear view mirror what had actually happened to Mr Crawford and his bike.
Pawley’s barrister, Ignatius Hughes KC, said Pawley’s statement gave evidence regarding Embankment Road closures which turned out much later, following police inquiry, to be true. He said Pawley’s evidence was substantially borne out and that he was open and consistent throughout.
Mr Hughes had also told the jury that theories were “not evidence” and that the claim by police about the baseball bat in the footwell of the passenger seat of the Mercedes was not borne out by the doorbell camera, which suggested it had come from the boot, as stated by Pawley.
Joseph Stone KC, for Brading, had noted that the lip-reading expert suggested Parry’s words “watch this”, moments before he struck Mr Crawford, were consistent with a last-minute decision rather than a pre-planned concept. He said Brading was considered a “man of honour and not a liar”. He added that the allegation that the three men had intended what took place had to be put into the context of the monitoring equipment in the van.
Mr Justice Garnham reminded the jury that Mr Crawford was a 59-yearold who was “entirely innocent” of what occurred. He had been a member of motorcycle clubs in the past but in January 2021 he joined the Devon ‘chapter’ of the Red Chiefs Motorcycle Club, based near Trago Mills.
While describing each of the three defendants, Mr Justice Garnham reminded the jury that each man accused of murder had been members of the armed forces.