A teenage crack dealer murdered one man and knifed another in a row over the size of the drugs he had supplied, a jury heard on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, drew a knife and fatally stabbed Lewis Butler in the abdomen and wounded Thomas Maughan in the shoulder.
Mr Butler, who was 44, shouted: “I am stabbed. Call an ambulance” as he lay on a walkway between houses at Buttermere Close, Bletchley, Milton Keynes.
Prosecutor Martin Mulgrew told the jury at Luton Crown Court: “The stabbing took place at 11pm on Monday 17th January this year. “There is no dispute that the person who inflicted the stab wounds is the defendant. You will have to decide how and why.”
He went on: “Some of the witnesses used illicit drugs. The defendant was a dealer in illicit drugs – in this case crack cocaine.” Earlier that evening, at 6pm, Lewis Butler asked Thomas Maughan if he wanted to come with him to buy drugs.
They went to a friend’s home and bought drugs from a drug line called “The Captive Line”. The defendant arrived with four or five wraps of crack at the address. There was a minor altercation and he left.
At about 11pm the group decided to buy some more drugs and made another call to the Captive Line, agreeing to meet the defendant in Buttermere Close. They parked up in a red Seat Leon and went to meet the defendant. Mr Mulgrew went on: “There were complaints about the size of the drugs.
One was heard to say: ‘The size is shit.’ There was pushing and a punch was thrown striking the defendant on the head.” After the two men were stabbed, the teenager made off out of the alleyway. Mr Maughan gave Lewis Butler CPR while another man knocked doors for help.
An ambulance was called, but Mr Butler died from his injury. A post mortem examination found he died from a single stab wound that caused internal bleeding. 1.7 litres of blood filled his abdominal cavity and he died from significant blood loss.
The defendant was arrested the next day. In a prepared statement he told the police he had been dealing drugs for a limited period. He said he had been contacted to supply a customer with 10 deals for £70.
He said he had been punched repeatedly in the face and had been struck with a pole. “I pulled the knife out and hit one.
Everything happened quickly. I was defending myself I feared for my life.” He said he had no intention to kill anyone. The teenager denies murder and wounding with intent.
Case proceeding It is expected to last two weeks.
Beds Bulletin – Borough edition
