‘Del Boy’ witness in Coventry drugs kingpin fix case ‘gave very obvious nod to juror’

A juror has alleged that a witness known as Del Boy gave a “very obvious” nod to another juror in the trial of a Coventry drugs kingpin. Dominyk Maggs told the Old Bailey of the “odd” goings-on at Warwick Crown Court, where Leslie Allen was accused of having £150,000 of cocaine and cannabis and possessing pepper spray.

It is alleged that juror one – Damien Drackley, 37, from Diamond Walk, Nuneaton– was promised £5,000 to “fix” the case and secure a not guilty verdict for Allen in 2018. Giving evidence at Drackley’s jury-tampering trial at the Old Bailey yesterday (November 28), Mr Maggs said jury members were given strict instructions before the case got under way.

He said he took it “very seriously” because the verdict would greatly impact the defendant, whether it was guilty or not guilty. He described how, after the prosecution had presented its case, defence witness Laurence Hayden, nicknamed ‘Del Boy’, was called.

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Mr Maggs said: “He came in and, as I had done with other witnesses, I watched him come into the court in front of the defendant’s box. He looked directly at juror number one and made direct eye contact with him and he did a very obvious nod at him as if he knew him.

“He gave a very visible nod.” Asked if juror one responded, Mr Maggs said: “I was not able to see his face so I was not able to see what his reaction was at the time but he did have a reaction later.

“The first opportunity we got after we had been dismissed… juror number one said did you see that guy nod at him. Me and another juror said we did.

“He said it was very odd. We said it was odd behaviour. At that point we were ushered into a lift and the conversation stopped.”

Mr Maggs said juror one also refused to switch his phone off because he “did not see the point in it” and thought others were “overreacting”. While deliberating on verdicts, juror one put himself up to be the foreperson but was unsuccessful, the court heard.

Mr Maggs said: “He said he quite fancied that role for himself. We voted.

“Initially he got none then he said something along the lines of, ‘oh great, nobody likes me then, thanks’, at which one of the other jury members raised their hand and voted for him. Another juror was voted by the rest of us so the majority won.”

Juror one went on to become “aggressive” in arguing that Leslie should be acquitted, Mr Maggs said. He told the Old Bailey: “He basically said that it was all made up, it was a complete load of rubbish, the prosecution, none of it made sense, none of the facts made sense so he was not guilty.”

Juror one told the others he had “knowledge” of pepper spray and it was “something you threw into a room”, the court heard. On the second day of deliberations, juror one maintained it was “not guilty, not guilty” and “nothing is going to change my mind”, Mr Maggs said.

“He pulled his hood up and slumped in his chair and said he was not participating any more. We were all quite shocked because the whole point is there are 12 people to discuss the evidence, so we tried to reason with him and said that’s not why he was there.

“If he was absolutely convinced he was not guilty he should present his reasons why. He said ‘no, no, no, it’s a waste of time, he’s not guilty’.”

Juror one went on to reveal knowledge of a gym connected to the case, prompting the others to write a note to the judge, the cour heard. Afterwards, juror one changed and became friendly and chatty with the rest of the panel, the witness said.

Jurors have been told Allen’s attempts to evade justice failed and he was sentenced to 13 years in jail. Laurence Hayden, 53, of St Nicholas Street, Coventry, and Mark Walker, 57, of Minton Road, Coventry, are also accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice in connection with the incident. They both deny the charge.

Lorraine Frisby, aged 53, of West Boulevard, Birmingham, has admitted the charge and another accused, Daniel Porter, from Birmingham, has since died, the court was previously told. The trial continues.

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