A teenager accused of murder told a court he was at the scene but said he was giving directions to the suspect who stabbed the victim.

Alfie Hammett, 19, and Joshua Howell, 18, have both been charged with the murder of Raymond James Quigley on January 17 last year in Westgate Street, Ipswich, as well as possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Hammett, from Rushmere St Andrew, and Howell, from Ipswich, both deny the charges.

Howell gave evidence to Ipswich Crown court and said he met with the suspect, described by police as Male 1 who the prosecution say is Alfie Hammett, in the grounds of Suffolk New College to supply him £30 of cannabis.

He said he had taken a machete with him for protection as he did not know Hammett and had previously been chased and threatened by gang members who thought he was in a gang because he had friends who were, but Howell said he was not a member.

Howell also said he had previously been kidnapped and held ransom by a gang in London in a case of mistaken identity.

He told the court that Hammett had asked where German Doner Kebab in Ipswich was and that he had to supply another person with cannabis in the same area as the restaurant so he decided to stay with him.  

Howell said he was unable to find the customer and so continued showing Hammett directions which meant they both went to Westgate Street together and encountered Mr Quigley with his two friends, who he said he had never seen or heard of before.

The court then heard that Howell had thought one of Mr Quigley’s friends was running at him as Hammett attacked Mr Quigley so he unsheathed his machete and chased him down the street, pursuing him into JD Sports until he felt there was no longer a threat of retaliation.

Gang connection to Norwich

During the listing of agreed facts the court heard from the prosecution that Hammett is a member of the Third Side Norwich gang.

A police search of Hammett’s bedroom the order of service for the memorial of Joe Dix, of Mile Cross, Norwich who was murdered in January last year and was also a member of the Third Side Gang.

There was also a picture of Hammett taken from a phone seized by police which showed him at Vale Green in Norwich which had become a memorial site for Mr Dix.

Third Side operates in opposition to OTM, or Only The Money, a Norwich gang which Mr Quigley was a member of the court heard.

During the trial of Mr Dix the prosecution produced evidence which showed the three defendants convicted of his murder were affiliated with Only The Money. 

The court heard from the prosecution that Howell is a member of the IP3 or Nacton gang operating in Ipswich which is associated with the Third Side gang.

It was stated there is no evidence that Mr Quigley, Hammett or Howell were involved in the murder of Mr Dix.

The court also heard that while there is an association between gangs in Norwich and Ipswich there is no evidence of any direct contact or association between Howell and Norwich gangs and there is no evidence of any voice call contact between Howell and Hammett.

The trial continues.