February 21, 2022 6.05 pm This story is over 25 months old

Second murder accused says he paid alleged killer only to scare off Sam Davies

Second defendant Joe Jameson’s third day in the witness box
Sam Davies, 23, was killed in a stabbing at Coleridge Gardens in Lincoln. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police

The man accused of making threats to kill Sam Davies has told the murder trial that he did not supply the weapon used to stab him.

Joe Jameson, who had fired 23-year-old Mr Davies from his drugs supply business, was in the witness box at Nottingham Crown Court for a third day on Monday, February 21.

It’s accepted that the pair had fall-out a couple of weeks before Mr Davies was lured to a park in Lincoln and fatally stabbed on May 27 last year.

The prosecution says the attack was carried out by 20-year-old Eimantas Gochman, whose DNA was found on a Rambo movie-style knife along with Mr Davies’ blood.

It also claims that it was revenge for Mr Davies stealing Jameson’s drugs stash.

Jameson says he had agreed to pay Gochman to only “scare off” Mr Davies, who had made threats to kill him and his mother and rob all his mates.

The victim was not supposed to be murdered, not even seriously harmed, insists Jameson.

Gochman is said to have been arranged by co-defendants Daniel Heydari – Jameson’s drug supplier – and Billy Gill.

Gordon Aspden QC, representing Gochman, questioned Jameson on his motives for meeting Gochman in Jameson’s car face to face for the first time hours before the attack.

“He wasn’t doing a lot of talking [on the phone],” said Jameson. “I wanted to see him in person and make sure he knew what I wanted.

“I just thought it was necessary to make sure that was concrete.”

“Did you have to give him something?” asked Mr Aspden.

“No,” replied Jameson, who agreed that he had told Gochman that Mr Davies “habitually” carried a knife.

“Did you take a plastic bag out from under your seat?” said Mr Aspden.

Jameson denied that and was asked: “Did you give him a Rambo 3 knife during that meeting?”

“No,” replied the defendant.

“Did you tell him you wanted him to use it to stab Mr Davies as you’d asked him to do?” said Mr Aspden.

Again, Jameson said no.

During re-examination by William Harbage QC, for the prosecution, Jameson said he only supplied cannabis and owed Heydari between £20,000 and £30,000 because he was always given the class B drug “on tick”.

He accepted Mr Harbage’s suggestion that they were “partners in crime”.

Mr Harbage added: “You had a joint problem because you had your stash nicked and you tried to sort it out together.”

Jameson replied: “No, I purely spoke to Dan about the threats I’d received.”

Mr Harbage continued: “And what happened to Sam Davies was you and Heydari taking revenge on Sam for what you thought he’d done.”

Jameson denied that too.

However, he admitted lying in his first defence statement in which he denied knowing Mr Davies was back in Lincoln on the day in question and claimed he was not on the St Giles estate at the time of the attack.

In fact Jameson was in his car near the attack scene for about 40 minutes.

He submitted a second defence statement shortly after the trial began last month.

“It wasn’t just a snap moment,” he said. “I’ve been in a prison cell for eight months thinking about why I’m here, what’s going to happen to my life.

“I decided I didn’t want to lie to myself or anyone else anymore – I wanted to tell every single one of you exactly what happened.”

Mr Harbage said: “You accept that this plan to put the frighteners on, to run with your evidence for a moment, involved you, Daniel Heydari, Billy Gill and Eimantas Gochman.

“But, in truth, it was a plan to kill or at the very least cause Sam Davies very serious harm. A plan to stab him.”

“No,” said Jameson.

Mr Harbage suggested that Jameson had had a re-think about his first statement and now had a different version to try to “save your own skin”.

“Trying to avoid any knowledge of the ‘dipped up’ messages,” he added, referring to what the prosecution claims was stabbing arrangements found though phones analysis.

“Isn’t the truth that you and Mr Heydari agreed to pay Gochman £5,000 and that’s why the message from Daniel Heydari to Billy Gill was ‘five there’?”

Jameson replied: “I had no idea that that message was being sent.”

He added: “It could mean five hundred, it could mean five thousand. It could even mean a fiver.”

Mr Harbage said: “Despite your suggestion that you had a big debt, I suggest you could afford to pay £5,000 because of your drug dealing.”

Jameson said his business was good but never produced the profits he wanted.

All seven Lincoln defendants face one count of murder, which they all deny.

They are Billy Gill, 21, of Hatcliffe Gardens; Daniel Heydari, 25, of Chestnut Street; Joe Jameson, 24, of Whitehall Terrace; Eimantas Gochman, 20, of Sturton Close; Eric Kesel, 19, of Browning Drive; and Charlie Wakefield, 21, of Broxholme Gardens.

A 17-year-old boy cannot be legally identified due to his age.

Jameson is also accused of making a threat to kill, which he denies.

The trial continues.

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