Four men accused of murdering a man in his flat planned to "get rid" of a hammer in a "fresh JD bag".
John Hutchinson, 44, died after collapsing on the floor of his Blackpool flat following an attack on April 10, 2023. When paramedics arrived they thought he suffered an overdose and administered emergency medicine, however it emerged he suffered a ruptured spleen after being struck with what is believed to have been a hammer.
The prosecution alleges Daniel Cunningham, 33, of Tarnbrook Drive in Blackpool, Lee Clarke, 33, of Greenall Court in Prescot and Darren McCabe, 47, of Warwick Road in Blackpool and David Bond, 33, murdered the 44-year-old. Preston Crown Court heard earlier on the same day, Mr Hutchinson, known as "Hutchy" received a text message from a friend, Danny McManus, asking if he was "up for a graft".
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Mr Hutchinson met with a man called Ben Hudson at 12.30am before using a hammer to steal a large bag of drugs from the home of Daniel Cunningham, a Blackpool drug dealer. Simon Driver, prosecuting, told the jury: "From that moment on, Hutchy was a marked man".
The prosecution said at 5.25pm, Clarke left Liverpool in his girlfriend's Ford Fiesta and drove to Blackpool with Bond on board. Meanwhile, McCabe reported that he located Mr Hutchinson at a flat in Scorton Avenue.
Mr Driver said Clarke, Bond and Cunningham got out of the car, armed with batons and a hammer. He added said the decision to use a hammer was not random, as it had been the weapon of choice in the earlier robbery.
The three men broke into the flat through a smashed kitchen window and set upon Mr Hutchinson. He was hit with a hammer and his head was stamped on, the court heard.
A neighbour heard the attack and called the police but Mr Hutchinson and the other people in the flat "weren't keen on giving an explanation or making a complaint", the court heard. Mr Hutchinson had cuts and bruises but was unaware he was bleeding to death from an internal injury. He collapsed at 8:40pm.
Following the attack, Clarke and Bond returned to Liverpool, where they laughed about what they had done, the jury was told. In a text exchange, Bond said: "Lad, my foot's killing me haha".
Clarke replied: "Took me back to the good old days, that did."
Bond said: "My bird's fuming haha." But added: "She's alright. Just got a cob on. I said I only drove."
Cunningham then joined in the chat, telling Clarke: "Thanks brother for everything fam. You and the other fella. Tell him thank you."
Bond then told Clarke to "make sure he gets rid of the hammer and get all that s**t in a fresh JD bag."
When the men learned Mr Hutchinson had died, "self preservation kicked in", Mr Driver said. They discussed "going down", with Bond asking Clarke, "what if I did it?"
Clarke replied: "A hammer to the back aint doing that bro."
But the court heard a hammer to the back was precisely what had killed Mr Hutchinson. At 1.15pm on April 11, officers arrested Cunningham at his home in Tarnbrook Drive, Blackpool.
As he answered the door to the police, Cunningham was on the phone to Clarke. When Clarke told Bond that Cunningham had been arrested, Bond told him: "Launch your phone."
In interview, Cunningham gave no comment. Clarke, who was arrested at his home in Greenall Close, Prescot, accepted he had broken into the flat and assaulted "the baldy one" – a description which did not match Mr Hutchinson.
He named Bond as the intruder with the hammer, but said he did not see the weapon until after they had left the property. McCabe was arrested in Talbot Road, Blackpool, and also gave a no comment interview, but said Mr Hutchinson was a good friend, and denied he had been part of the group who assaulted him.
However the prosecution said McCabe was paid for his role in a revenge attack to take back the drugs and deter others from stealing the stash. Bond was arrested at his mum's house in Oaskland Avenue, Crosby, on April 15.
He said he had found himself in a car on the way to Blackpool and that the purpose of the visit was to recover drugs. However he too said he had only seen the hammer after they had left the premises.
All four defendants deny murder. Mr Driver said: "The drug dealing world is a brutal world."
The trial is expected to last five weeks.
(Proceeding)
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