Five strangers robbed a Gucci bag from an innocent shoplifter and stabbed the victim to death, according to a hearing today.
Ryan O’Connor was 26 when a gang allegedly found his manbag on an evening visit to Newport.
Michael Brady QC the prosecutor said that Ryan and five other men, aged 17-20, traveled from Cardiff to Newport. Ryan was then attacked with two large knives.
He stated that Ryan O’Connor, 26, was attacked, stabbed, and robbed from a Gucci Bag.
He died within minutes after being attacked with stab wounds that were fatal. They are the five accused in his murder and robbery. He had been travelling from Cardiff to Newport on a Fiesta that they stole earlier in the day.
Ryan, a character popularly known as Apple in Newport’s Alway Estate, suffered a heart attack.
Lewis Aquilina (20), Elliot Fiteni (19), Kyle Raisis (18), Joseph Jeremy (17) are charged with the murder and robbery at Newport, Gwent.
Newport Crown Court is holding a trial of four teenagers and two men accused of killing Ryan O’Connor, and taking his Gucci bag.
Brady stated that the gang was driving about when they saw Mr O’Connor with a Gucci bag and decided to rob him.
He said, “Two of them were armed and equipped with large knives that they had just purchased to kill Mr O’Connor. They returned to their car carrying his Gucci bag after robbery.”
Newport Crown Court heard from the gang that they were later arrested following an attack on their car.
Brady claimed that Brady was not familiar with the region because Brady drove up Vaughan Williams Drive (a culde-sac).
Witnesses said that the car drove past Ryan’s grave in the green grass and then he and his friends gang insulted him.
He explained that they were forced to go past Mr O’Connor’s gravely injured body, as he was being attended to by members the public.
‘The driver slowed down the car not to be concerned for Mr O’Connor but rather mocked and ridiculed him. The car was sounding raucous.
Court heard that witnesses reported the Fiesta to police. Later in Cardiff, the Fiesta was in a high-speed chase and was stopped by the stinger.
They were all taken into police custody.
Brady stated that while there is no proof they knew Ryan O’Connor, we believe they traveled from Cardiff and Newport to commit crime.
Newport police search for Ryan O’Connor, who was allegedly attacked by men.
“When Ryan O’Connor was mentioned, they decided to rob Ryan O’Connor.
“What’s certain is that defendants left Cardiff equipped with three large knives. They also traveled in a stolen car with number plates cloned.
He claimed that they also carried ‘gloves, balaclavas’ in the car during the June murder.
Brady claimed that the two knives were so large they could have easily been seen in a car with five young men.
Aquilina (20), Fiteni (19), Raisis (18), Strickland (19) and Jeremy (17) all from Cardiff all deny murder and manslaughter.
Cardiff Crown Court continues the eight-week-old trial.