Drug dealer sobs after claiming fatal stabbing of Mansoor Mahmood was 'self-defence'
A drug dealer broke down in tears as he told jurors he fatally stabbed a father-of-two in self defence.
Niron Parker-Lee sobbed in the witness box as he claimed he produced a blade in Brierley Hill to protect himself from fellow drug dealer Mansoor Mahmood.
The 20-year-old recalled ‘panicking’ and brandishing the knife after claiming Mr Mahmood attacked him first.
Taking the stand on Friday, he said: “Knowing that I have taken somebody’s life, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
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Parker-Lee, of Blewitt Street, Pensnett, denies murdering Mr Mahmood and claims he stabbed the 24-year-old in self-defence in the town’s High Street on October 15, 2016.
Prosecutors allege Parker-Lee plunged a ‘Rambo-type’ knife into his victim’s body after they battled in an alleyway over a drugs dispute.
Giving evidence at Birmingham Crown Court, Parker-Lee said he left his home to make a drugs deal and get a haircut on the day of the alleged murder.
He missed the bus and decided to order a taxi, spotting Mr Mahmood with another man on the opposite side of High Street.
Parker-Lee backed into a nearby alleyway in an attempt to stay out of trouble but Mr Mahmood approached him and threw a punch.
Retreat
He claimed he retaliated with a punch before fleeing, adding: “I was trying to get away. When we were in the alleyway, I saw him trying to reach for something on his waist.”
The defendant recalled pulling out the knife in High Street, ‘hoping’ Mr Mahmood would retreat, but instead he ran at him.
Parker-Lee added: “First he tried to kick out at me [then] he threw a punch at me. I think that’s when he got stabbed.”
During the trial, Mr Mahmood’s wife Aisha Akhtar said she told her husband to arm himself with a screwdriver ‘for his safety’ before he left their Bague Walk home the day he died.
The trial continues.
