Murder accused Clapham cannabis farmer feared he would be tortured

The Clapham man accused of murdering a burglar who broke into his cannabis factory has told how he thought he was going to be tortured by the men.

Raymond Andes, 39, from Plummer Road, fired a single shot which struck 21-year-old Isaiah Bovell in the eye.

Mr Bovell, from Brixton Hill, had gone to Mr Andes' flat at 11am on April 14 with two other men but was killed as he tried to force entry to the ground floor window.

The jury at the Old Bailey heard Mr Andes recount how he heard at least two men, described by him as like "a pack of crazed animals", banging on his front door shouting "Let try and go round the back".

He said: "I walked down the corridor to the storage room, went to the cupboard, got the gun and got it ready.

"Then I heard the window smash so I went back to the bedroom, peeked round the corner of the wall and fired a shot.

"I did not want him to climb in but I thought they were armed."

Earlier in the trial, Mr Andes went through the timeline of events which led to him shooting the intruder with a 9mm Belgian-made Browning pistol.

He described an incident the previous night where he claimed he was shot at by two youths - citing this as the reason why he shot Mr Bovell without warning him he had a loaded weapon.

Mr Andes said: "I was terrified at the time, I've heard stories of people being tortured to find drugs or money, so I tried to protect myself.

"I had been shot at the night before so I thought they had a weapon."

But Zoe Johnson, prosecuting, accused him of "post-event justification", claiming he used the previous night's shooting as a means of justifying his alleged use of "lethal force".

Mr Andes denied this saying: "There are two witness accounts of hearing gunshots (the night before the shooting) so why would I lie? And you found empty casings near where I said I was shot from."

The defendant denies murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life - he has pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis.

The trial continues.

31/10/2011

http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/9333117.Murder_accused_cannabis_farmer_feared_he_would_be_tortured/