Security guard 'betrayed store manager knifed to death in raid'

Victim: Jamie Simpson, with sister Vanessa, was killed at Matalan in Dalston
12 April 2012

A store manager stabbed to death in a robbery which went wrong was betrayed by his colleague, the Old Bailey heard today.

Jamie Simpson, 33, defended the Easter weekend takings with his life, the jury was told.

Only one of the robbers stabbed 19-stone Mr Simpson but seven members of the gang are charged with his murder, the court heard.

The ringleader was said to be Simeon Jumah but "the even more sinister" figure was Roy Williams, the security guard for the Matalan store in Dalston who acted as "the inside man".

Aftab Jafferjee QC, prosecuting, said: "The robbers fled empty handed. Mr Simpson had been entrusted by the store to look after the takings and he did so with his life.

"Three robbers were captured on CCTV entering the store shortly before it shut at 7pm on Easter Saturday 2008. The plan was to hide in the rear stairwell for about one hour until the takings had been collected from the various tills by Mr Simpson and transported to the cash office on the ground floor.

"Kobina Essel was the one to confront and threaten Mr Simpson. He was only 17 at the time but a fearsome weapon would obviously redress the imbalance. Mr Simpson did not yield and he was stabbed to death by Essel."

The jury heard that the other two defendants who entered the store were Anthony Maina and a 17-year-old who cannot be named because of his age. They had hoped the takings would amount to up to £30,000.

The seven defendants all deny the murder of Mr Simpson, whose family are from Derby. They are: Jamal Chambers, 18, of no fixed address, Essel, 18, of east London, Jumah, 25, of Manor Park, Williams, 31, of Edmonton, Duane Owusu, 20, of no fixed address, Maina, 20, of Canning Town, and the 17-year-old. Jumah, Essel, Maina and the youth have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob. The three others have pleaded not guilty to that charge.

The jury heard that Jumah and Williams planned the robbery and Chambers recruited the men to carry it out. Owusu drove the robbers to the store in a stolen car. A reconnaissance mission was carried out on Good Friday. Mr Jafferjee said: "With the assistance of the security guard Williams, each defendant would have known that what stood between them and the money was Mr Simpson. The awful truth is that they each took the risk that such a weapon might have to be used."

The case continues.

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