Bracknell teenager jailed for stabbing friend with hunting knife over drugs debt

Reading Crown Court heard today how "client" Grant Edmonds had racked up a £180 debt with 18-year-old drug dealer Jaedon Smith and on the day of the funeral of Edmonds' grandmother, threats were exchanged between the pair.

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Later that day it was said that members of the Edmonds family had paid a visit to the house of Smith’s mother, kicking in her front door and smashing a window before appearing in her front room and making threats.

Sitting at Reading Crown Court, Judge Paul Dugdale said: "The police were called and that is how it should have been left. I bet all three of you desperately wish that is how it was left - but it was not.

"Mr Smith decided to take matters into his own hands. You phoned both the men who sit next to you in the dock and from that first phone call it was clear what you were asking them to do."

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Aidan Hughes, 19,  Segsbury Grove, Bracknell

His friend Aidan Hughes, 19, armed himself with a knife in each hand.

Smith clasped a "large hunting knife" while 23-year-old Callum Fenton acted as a look-out during the staged revenge attack.

Callum Fenton, aged 23, of Mount Pleasant, Bracknell

Prosecutor Charles Royle said it was a premeditated attack in which the defendants went to the scene at an organised time and laid in right before they ambushed what turned out to be Kevin Edmonds, Grant Edmonds' brother - a case of mistaken identity.

The judge explained that innocent victim Kevin Edmonds knew nothing of the rivalry and had simply been at the "wrong place at the wrong time" when he was viciously stabbed, having just attended his grandmother's funeral.

In an emotional statement, Mr Edmonds explained that he had been out of work as a painter and decorator since the attack and had become self-conscious of his seven inch scar, refusing to take his tee-shirt off in bed with his partner.

He said: "I feel like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I was in the area to attend my nan’s funeral, an already sad day and now I am constantly paranoid. Since the attack I rarely leave the house, I will ask someone else to go instead of me. When I do go out, I seem to get out of breath."

A few days after the attack, police attended Smith’s home at Hayley House in Bracknell, where he jumped through a first floor window before being arrested nearby clutching an Armani bag with £1,010 cash inside and trainers with the victim's blood on them.

He had a Nokia burner phone and bags of heroin, cannabis and cocaine.

Defending Smith, Janick Fielding, said: "It was quite clear from CCTV that this was a fast and short incident that lasted a few seconds. Jaedon Smith is remorseful, neither of the two young men sat in the dock would be here had Jaedon not contacted them. There is no way they would have been drawn into this."

Defence counsel for Hughes, Robert Grey, said: "He is not involved in drugs, his involvement came about as a result of a telephone call he answered. He deeply regrets that he got involved."

Defending Fenton, Christopher Blake explained that the now 23-year-old had been a roofer before becoming disqualified from driving which saw him lose his job.

He said: "There is much good about Callum Fenton, he is somebody who is capable of making a positive contribution to society."

In a compelling message before sentencing, Judge Dugdale said: "You will still be young when you are released, this is not the end of the world. You have mucked up. But for this disastrous decision, it is clear all three of you have the capacity to live perfectly decent and good lives and I hope that will be the case for you in the future. You need to get through your sentence and get on with your lives."

Sitting at Reading Crown Court, he said: "Jaedon Smith you arrived with a large hunting knife, Aidan Hughes you decided it was sensible to take two knives, one for each hand and Callum Fenton, your role was clear, this was a planned attack.

"It was good fortune that Kevin Edmonds did not die or the three of you could have been looking at going to prison for life. It took place in broad daylight, on a public path at 2pm in the afternoon.

"Kevin Edmonds' stab wounds penetrated his back and cut his spleen, it caused a lot of internal bleeding and a seven-inch scar down his chest. It really was a matter of seconds but it was an intense, frenzied few seconds which stemmed from involvement in class A drugs."

Smith, of Hayley House, Bracknell, was convicted of wounding with intent and admitted possessing a bladed article, conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis as well as possessing criminal property.

He was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

Hughes, of Segsbury Grove, Bracknell, was convicted of wounding with intent and admitted possessing a bladed article. He was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison.

Fenton, of Mount Pleasant, Bracknell, was convicted of wounding with intent and admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.