Lewis murder trial: friend denies chasing accused with knife (From Daily Echo)

Lewis murder trial: friend denies chasing accused with knife

6:08pm Wednesday 23rd January 2008 in Lewis Singleton Trial By Jon Reeve, Education Reporter

A TEENAGER who watched his friend collapse in front of him after being stabbed has been accused in court of earlier chasing one of the alleged attackers with a knife.

Craig Smith, 19, today took the witness stand in the trial of four people charged with murdering 18-year-old Lewis Singleton in the early hours of March 31 last year.

Under cross examination he was accused of "picking and choosing" his evidence to the Winchester Crown Court jury.

It emerged that he and Lewis had been refused entry to a party and had run from police in the hours before they were ambushed by a gang of five males in Obelisk Road, Woolston, Southampton.

Lewis died in hospital hours later from stab wounds sustained in the ensuing attack.

Rikki Johnson, 19, of Honeysuckle Road, Bassett, Sercan Calik, 19, of Burgess Road, Bassett, and two youths aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny murder and violent disorder.

Defending Johnson, Oba Nsugbe said Mr Smith told police details of the night he failed to tell the jury in his evidence.

"Where else did you go that evening?" he asked Mr Smith.

"I'm going to suggest to you that you chased Rikki Johnson with a knife at about 10 that evening, in the vicinity of Itchen Bridge."

"That's not true, it definitely didn't happen," replied Mr Smith, who earlier told how he had managed to escape when the gang burst out of a parked car.

At the end of the street he turned to see Lewis fall to the floor as he was circled by four of the gang and punched and kicked.

As the fifth member of the gang approached Mr Smith he said Lewis then ran past him.

"He carried on running past me and said I have been stabbed I have been stabbed," he said.

Mr Smith caught up with Lewis in nearby Condor Close, where his friend collapsed.