Convictions for Attempted Murder and s.18 GBH – John Lloyd-Richards leads Edward Warren for the Crown.
Following a two and a half week trial in Winchester Crown Court where John Lloyd-Richards led Edward Warren for the Crown, Amman Majid was convicted of Attempted Murder and other associated offences including refusing to hand over the pin number to his phone. His co-defendant Charlie Costen was convicted of being involved in the attack and of causing Grievous Bodily Harm with intent.
Late in the evening of the 30th January 2024, the two Defendants were at a snooker club in Basingstoke and upon leaving came into contact with the 47 year old victim with a long term Class A drug habit. The jury heard that when the victim refused to ‘set up’ his dealer for the young men to attack and no doubt rob of their wares, they chased him down whilst riding an e-bike, the victim riding a much slower pedal bike.
The Crown’s case was that Charlie Costen was riding the e-bike with Amman Majid riding pillion holding a machete type blade which was captured on dashcam footage. When the victim was stopped after the chase and refused to comply, he was led away to the Black Bridge in Buckskin by both these defendants. There he was subjected to a brutal attack with the machete causing, amongst other injuries, two fractures to his skull. The e-bike was then used to ‘make good’ the escape of the two defendants.
The case involved piecing together cell site, CCTV, dashcam and Ring doorbell footage to trace the movements of the victim and defendants leading up to the attack. An unusual feature of the case was the jury’s ability to identify Charlie Costen from distinctive reflective stripes on the back of his trousers which could be seen in the footage obtained in the investigation.
Both men will be sentenced at the beginning of October 2024 at Winchester Crown Court.
