Two of the four men on trial for the murder of Christopher Allbury-Burridge in Northampton had previously broken into three vacant cannabis farms in Northamptonshire, the jury heard today (Wednesday 11 August).
The couple, plus Jordan Parker and Rakeem Leandre, claim they were there to steal the cannabis plants that Mr Allbury-Burridge grew in his guest room, but thought the house was empty.
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Christopher Allbury-Burridge
Cyrus, the first defendant to take a stand in the trial that began last week, also said a fifth man named Dele traveled with him as part of the conspiracy.
Simon Pentol QC, defending Cyrus, asked his client about his involvement in the Raeburn Road incident and what led to it, as well as his relationship with the other defendants.
“No way,” he replied when asked if he knew of a conspiracy that could cause serious harm or death to the homeowner if he resisted Mr. Pentol.
Cyrus also denied any knowledge of the knife Parker had used to fatally stab Mr. Allbury-Burridge when attempting to force the intruders out of his kitchen in what he believed was an accident.
He said he stayed in front of the house, where he expected someone to open the front door so he could help load the cannabis plants into his car.
Cyrus, 26, from Whitney Road, Leyton, has been charged with murder and conspiracy to robbery; Farquhar, 24, Liverpool Road, Leyton; Leandre, 26, Brewers Court, Norwich; and Parker, 24, Chingford Road, Walthamstow. Parker pleaded guilty to possessing a knife.
Cyrus said he was struggling financially in mid-2020 as he had reduced hours as a customer service assistant at Euston tube station due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He became depressed and was given leave from work but not paid in full, so he began offering bar taxi services to his friends and co-workers to make extra cash.
Farquhar, aware of his problems, told him his drug dealer had offered to steal cannabis from uninhabited properties.
Cyrus said if he needed help as he thought it was “harmless”, but only as a driver as he had nowhere to get out of his car or break in anywhere.
“I’m really ashamed that I’m involved in everything,” he told the jury.
Cannabis plant intrusions in Kettering, Rushden and Wellingborough
In the fall of 2020, Farquhar sent Cyrus a zip code via instant messaging app Snapchat as the first place they broke in and drove there at night.
When he arrived in Kettering, unknown men who had traveled with Farquhar placed bags of cannabis plants in the trunk of his Vauxhall Astra.
Cyrus then drove back to London, Farquhar sent him another zip code via Snapchat, where unknown men took the bags out of the car and into a van and he paid £ 500.
The same arrangement was made for the break-in at Rushden, but several months passed before the next break-in at Wellingborough, on the night of December 1st.
This time, Cyrus had brought “an extra pair of hands,” a man named Dele from Stratford, whom he’d met a couple of times while going out in Shoreditch and with whom he’d shared soccer jokes on Whatsapp.
Dele had asked the defendant several times if he knew about a job before suggesting he would be interested in illegal jobs, so he suggested the cannabis-growing thefts that he appeared to be interested in.
The couple drove to Wellingborough together, arrived around 2am and waited for Farquhar to arrive with another man, which took less than half an hour.
This time the four of them got out of the cars when Cyrus said he had gained enough confidence and approached the house, which Cyrus described as “quite shabby” and “messy”.
Dele tossed a brick through a front window and climbed in before opening the front door for the other three.
Cyrus said he waited there while the others packed the cannabis plants in bags so he could take them into his car: “Most of the cannabis I’ve seen in my life.”
When the trunk was full, the defendant and Dele returned to London, Dele was dropped off at Romford before Cyrus delivered the cannabis in Leyton and both received £ 500.