Louis Simpson trial: Heroin deal con led to Wolverhampton murder, court told

Herman 'Louis' Simpson thought he was paying a cut-price £3,000 for a stolen stash of drugs from Dylan Jackson, but was actually given a package of ash, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

The 47-year-old was then stabbed six times – once through the heart – when he made the discovery at his ground-floor flat in Compton Road, said Miss Deborah Gould, prosecuting.

He was knifed by Jackson who had set up the scam and was desperate to escape with the cash, she said.

The 20-year-old, from Wolverhampton, has admitted stabbing the victim but claimed he was acting in self defence, Miss Gould told the jury.

The court heard how Jackson, who denies murder, had set out to double cross Mr Simpson and the victim had already been supplied with a 'tester' of real heroin as part of the scam.

The jury was also told how Mr Simpson had an array of weapons at his home when he was stabbed to death.

The 47-year-old drug dealer had a rifle, Taser, spade and a golf club, the court heard.

Miss Deborah Gould, prosecuting, said the victim both used and sold heroin.

Miss Gould said: "He didn't have a garden, but there was a spade. He didn't play golf, but there was a golf club. He also had a Taser that looked like a mobile telephone and a gun.

"Clearly he was very conscious of his personal safety. Given his involvement with drugs, this may not be very surprising to you. It is not an attractive feature of this case."

Mr Simpson had been visited by a long-time friend Lisa Adcock – a regular visitor to his flat in Compton Road, Compton – on April 13, the day he died, the court heard.

Miss Gould said: "She found him in a particularly good mood that day. He said he was trying to arrange a purchase of heroin that was going to be some sort of bargain.

"He said it had been stolen and was being sold to him at a reduced price. Lisa Adcock said he was 'buzzing' because the deal was too good to be true."

Mr Simpson had already been supplied with a 'tester' by Jackson – but this really was heroin, it was said.

He and Miss Adcock – another drug user – then sampled the drug and she later told police although it had been cut, as far as she was concerned, it did contain heroin, the jury were told.

She then went to her nearby home but was called back later and asked to go and withdraw a further £300 from a cashpoint at a nearby supermarket, Miss Gould said.

Mr Simpson already had more than £2,000 at the flat ready for the drug sale, the court was told.

Meanwhile, Jackson, 20, was arranging to be picked up by a taxi from an address in Crosby Close, Whitmore Reans, which is where he lives but was not his home, it was said.

He gave the driver a false name, asked him to stop outside a specified address in an adjacent street to the one in which Mr Simpson lived and then asked him to wait, said the prosecutor.

He approached the flat from the rear and arrived to find Mr Simpson inside with another of the victim's friends, David Wyntr.

Miss Adcock returned from the cashpoint soon afterwards and Jackson realised she knew him, it was claimed.

He pulled up his hood and turned away from her before she was sent to the kitchen while the deal continued, it was claimed.

Mr Simpson then put around £2,500 on the coffee table and asked for time to get the £500 balance, it was said.

Jackson then pocketed the cash and handed over a package deliberately wrapped in layers of cling film to make it difficult to identify its content, it was claimed, but Simpson smelled a rat.

As he stood up, the defendant – who had allegedly come armed with a knife – lunged at him with the weapon, and declared: "You're mad if you think you're getting this money back," continued Miss Gould.

The victim was forced back on to a sofa and chair where Mr Wyntr allegedly saw him being attacked by Jackson who delivered 'quick stabbing motions' towards the torso as the victim desperately tried to protect himself.

During the scuffle, the coffee table moved to expose a rifle lying on the floor, said the prosecutor, who added: "At this stage, the defendant picked up the gun and removed it from the living room. He was there to commit a scam, a fraud, and was hardly likely to leave a weapon that could stop him getting away with it."

Jackson then ran away with the seven-inch bladed knife and the gun and fled to Bath, where he was traced and arrested on April 29.

The rifle was later found in a discarded fridge on waste ground near Crosby Close.

Paramedics and an emergency doctor were called to the scene, but could not save Mr Simpson.

Miss Gould told the jury: "Mr Simpson was not a pillar of society, Lisa Adcock used drugs, as did Mr Wyntr. You may not be impressed by their lifestyle, but what matters is that regardless of who the law is dealing with, it must be dispensed evenly. This was murder."

Jackson, of Crosby Close, denies murder, claiming he attacked Mr Simpson after the victim had pointed the gun at him.

The trial continues.