Svenson Ong-a-kwie, who is accused of the murder of girl scout Jodie Chesney, is said to have become angry after trying to sell cannabis to her friend
Jodie Chesney was murdered by drug dealers after her friend buying bought a £40 bag of cannabis from their rival, a court has heard.
The 17-year-old victim was stabbed in the back in a park in Romford, east London in March in what prosecutors have called a turf war between drug dealers.
The Old Bailey heard today that one of those accused of her murder, a 19-year-old called Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, had contacted a friend of Jodie’s offering drugs in the hours before the killing.
A message – sent by Ong-a-Kwie to Jodie’s friend Kane Compton – said: ‘1g 2g pineapple express & mango haze and 20s, 40s, 50s of the power fast delivery all over the hill holla with the dolla.’
Pineapple Express and Mango Haze are words for cannabis while power is a term for cocaine, the court has been told.
But when Mr Compton’s friend Bryce Henderson, 18, tried to contact Ong-a-Kwie, he got no reply, the court heard
Mr Henderson gave up on Spencer and agreed to buy £40 of cannabis from another local dealer who arranged delivery to Amy’s Park, Harold Hill within the hour, the jury was told.
Jodie, 17, was stabbed to death while playing music in a park with friends close to St Neot’s Road, Harold Hill, in Romford, east London, on March 1. A prosecutor said she was ‘an entirely blameless individual who got caught up in some quarrel between drug dealers’
Meanwhile, the court heard, Mr Compton’s brother, Joshua Compton, contacted Ong-a-Kwie and arranged to buy some cannabis.
An hour later, at about 8.30pm, Ong-a-Kwie arrived at the park, but became angry, the jury heard. He contacted co-accused Manuel Petrovic who also came to the scene.
Prosecutor Crispin Aylett told the jury: ‘The prosecution suggest that while Ong-a-Kwie was in Harold Hill he must either have heard or seen something that upset him.
‘For his part Joshua Compton had said that there was no conversation between him and Ong-a-Kwie.’
Manuel Petrovic, who is also on trial for murder, is said to have come to the park after being contacted by Ong-a-Kwie
Four alleged drug dealers – Petrovic, 20, Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and two boys aged 16 and 17 from east London – are on trial at the Old Bailey for murder.
Earlier today, the jury head that the Petrovic and the 16-year-old co-accused were arranging street deals in the area in the afternoon before the killing.
Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said Petrovic allegedly received a text from a drug supplier offering to sell him ‘G13’ and ‘Pineapple Kush’ skunk-cannabis ‘both of high quality – ten out of ten’ earlier that day. Petrovic allegedly replied ‘ring me’.
Mr Aylett said Petrovic was asked for £2,800 payment and added: ‘Manuel’s reply; “2500 now”.’
He continued: ‘So we are dealing with quite a substantial quantity of drugs for quite a substantial amount of money.’
The court heard yesterday how, after his later arrest, Petrovic refused to help police with the murder inquiry.
Initially, Petrovic told detectives he was ‘playing a no-comment interview’ and gave them a prepared statement.
Petrovic, 20, (left) and Ong-a-Kwie, 19, (right) are on trial at the Old Bailey. Prosecutors say they went to the park to ‘mete out violence in some quarrel between drug dealers’
Petrovic denied involvement in Jodie’s murder and said his car had been stolen in a robbery.
The court also heard that two hours after the murder, Petrovic was dealing drugs from the Vauxhall Corsa, the same car seen at the stabbing.
Some customers turned on him and one of his alleged accomplices, a 16-year-old who cannot be named.
Their drugs and car keys were stolen, leaving the vehicle immobilised – and giving police a crucial lead.
As the investigation progressed, Petrovic made a longer statement in which he said: ‘I have no involvement in the murder of Jodie Chesney.
‘I am deeply saddened by her death and feel for her friends and family. A young life has been taken away in what seems to be an unprovoked attack on an innocent girl who had her whole life ahead of her.’
He refused to name those he had been with on the night of the killing of March 1 to protect himself and his family.
Jodie died in this park in east London. Prosecutors say she was ‘entirely blameless’ and became caught up in a violent drugs turf war
Mr Aylett, prosecuting, told jurors that police who went to a hostel to arrest the third defendant – 19-year-old Svenson Ong-a-kwie – found a knife in his room.
The QC suggested the murder weapon itself may have been disposed of but the presence of a blade was ‘not without significance’.
Officers found Ong-a-kwie at another address in Dagenham, east London, and he was caught after climbing out of a window.
The fourth defendant, a 17-year-old who cannot be named because of his age, was arrested at the same house.
The prosecution says Jodie was an entirely innocent victim caught up in a dispute between drug gangs in Harold Hill, east London.
Petrovic, Ong-a-kwie, both of Romford, and the two youths, both also from east London, deny murder. The trial continues.