A troubled ‘dealer’ was lured into a trap by his drug bosses and stabbed, it was claimed in court.
Zain Sailsman, 19, from Macclesfield, was stabbed as a punishment for stealing a shotgun to pay off a debt, prosecutors told Chester Crown Court.
It was claimed the teenager had fired the weapon at the home of a rival dealer on Parkgate Road, on the Moss estate, on October 8 last year.
Zain, pictured, went on the run but was lured out of hiding to meet drug dealers Ricky Jervis and Charles Beadell, and Beadell’s girlfriend, Julia Howard, the court heard.
The prosecution claim that during that meeting on Bullocks Lane, Sutton, on the evening of October 30, Zain was stabbed through the back with a 12cm blade. He was found critically ill before dying in hospital.
Mr Jervis, Mr Beadell and Miss Howard all deny murder. Miss Howard denies murder and perverting the course of justice.
Co-defendants William Dale, 25, Patrick Jordan, 19, and Cade Spence, 20, deny firearms offences; and Dale Thompson, 20, denies perverting the course of justice.
Two other co-defendants have pleaded guilty to charges. Jake Powell, 23, admitted perverting the course of justice, and Daniel Galloway, 25, from Macclesfield, to involvement in the firearms offence.
The trial, expected to last seven weeks, started at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, June 4.
Prosecutor Andrew Thomas QC told the court that the case involved the sale of Class A drugs – cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin – by a gang of ‘unsophisticated, young, small-time drug dealers’.
He claimed Mr Jervis and Mr Beadell used violence in an effort to control the supply of drugs in Macclesfield and to enforce discipline within their ranks.
Mr Thomas said drug dealing was ‘a treacherous business where allegiances shift’. He claims the target of the shooting was Jake Powell, who he alleges is a rival drug dealer, who Mr Jervis and Mr Beadell wanted to frighten into working for them. Mr Thomas alleged Zain Sailsman was already working for them and volunteered to pull the trigger, twice blasting the front door of a house, where a couple and their two young children lived.
The plan worked and Mr Powell started working for Mr Beadell, the court was told.
However, Zain, a heavy drugs user, ‘went off the rails’ and double-crossed the others by selling the gun to pay off his drug debts, he claimed.
Mr Thomas claimed the gun was hidden in a wood in Sutton and Zain had gone back and stolen it.
Mr Thomas said initially Zain fled Macclesfield to Blackpool. After a few days he came back, attempting to ingratiate himself with Mr Jervis and Mr Beadell, and offering to work for them again to pay off his debts, it was heard.
On the night of the killing, Zain met with Mr Jervis, Mr Beadell and Miss Howard and drove to the wood where the gun had been hidden, prosecutors claim.
Mr Thomas said Zain hoped to explain its disappearance, but he had actually be lured to that spot in order to be punished.
Mr Jervis, Mr Beadell and Miss Howard had taken a ‘substantial knife’ and it was used to stab Zain, the court was told, but that only one person had used the knife. The knife cut through a major blood vessel and Zain died within minutes.
Mr Thomas claims the trio abandoned Zain in the wood and made attempts to conceal the evidence.
He claims Jake Powell and Dale Thompson were given the task of hiding evidence by burning Beadell’s bloodstained clothing.
In his conclusion Mr Thomas said: “The prosecution say that the firearms offence was committed by the defendants acting together: William Dale supplying the gun; Charlie Beadell, Ricky Jervis and Zain Sailsman involved in firing the gun; Daniel Galloway, Patrick Jordan and Cade Spence providing the transport. Each of them is equally guilty.
“In terms of the murder, Julia Howard, Charlie Beadell and Ricky Jervis were all involved together in a plan to use violence against Zain Sailsman, stabbing him as a punishment for taking the shotgun. They played different roles, but each of them is guilty of murder.
“Dale Thompson assisted Jake Powell to destroy Charlie Beadell’s clothing.
“None of the defendants were innocent bystanders who were there by accident. Each of them was trusted to play a significant role not just in the supply of drugs but in the commission of violent offences.”
The prosecution outlines the case against the defendants
- Updated: Mr Spence was later cleared by the court.
