Essex Boys, The New Generation (27 page)

‘The following morning, Clair took me back to my car. I can’t remember the time – it was probably eight o’clock or eight-thirty – and I could see as we travelled around the corner that there were no police at the allotments. I remember thinking – is he dead? I got in my own car and saw that my phone was in the centre console. I tried to turn it on, but the battery was flat, so I put it on charge and drove to my brother Darren’s. On the way, I turned the phone on, as it had charged up a bit. It immediately rang and when I answered I found out that it was Percival. He was panicking, asking, “Why haven’t you answered your phone? Why haven’t you answered your phone?” I explained that my phone had gone flat after I’d left it in my car overnight, but he continued to complain about not being able to reach me. He said, “I’ve been trying to ring you all fucking morning. What’s the matter?”

‘I replied, “Nothing’s the matter. I can’t turn my fucking phone on if I haven’t got it with me.” After that Percival calmed down and asked me if everything was OK. I explained that everything was fine, I was on my way to my brother’s and then I had some work to sort out. “We need to speak,” Percival replied. “I’ll meet up with you later.” As almost an afterthought, Percival added, “We went back to the body. I’ve got his phone. Make sure you get a new one.”

‘I did go and purchase a new telephone; I got it from Argos in Southend. I didn’t throw my old phone away. I kept it.

‘Despite my promise to Percival, I felt I had to talk to somebody about Dean’s murder and so I told my brother when I arrived at his home. He said I had two choices: either tell the police all I knew, which he recommended I do, or never mention the matter again. I can’t recall how long I spent with my brother, but I remember seeing Percival later that afternoon. He said, “All you have got to say is where you were between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.” When I asked Percival who he had returned to the murder scene with, he wouldn’t say. He said he’d tried to open a manhole cover; he broke the padlock off and said they were going to throw Dean’s body down there. He said there was too much blood to move Dean so they just took his phone and left him there.

‘I told him that I thought he was shooting at me that night, but he denied doing so. He said he had fired two more shots into Dean because his legs were still moving. I can’t remember much about what I did after leaving Percival. I just remember thinking, you are a sick fuck. I did go to the back of the Anne Boleyn pub in Rochford and dump my clothes in the bins. Ricky had suggested I dispose of them because my footprints would be in the allotments. When I pressed Ricky about why he had killed Dean, he would only say that Boshell was a liability and a prick. He said that I needed to get over it. “It’s no big deal, what’s done is done.” That’s when I thought bollocks, I am not standing trial for his murder. Ricky didn’t give a fuck about Dean at the end of the day, his attitude was: “I am untouchable.”

‘I have since discussed going on the witness-protection programme with Clair because I wanted to tell the police what had happened. She said, “Tell them all you know,” and that is what I have now done.’

When the police contacted Alvin’s brother and asked him to corroborate Alvin’s claim that he had confessed to him about the murder, Darren said he had no idea what Alvin was talking about. He continues to deny having any knowledge of his brother’s allegations. Telephone records prove that Percival did not ring Alvin the morning after Boshell had been murdered, as Alvin claimed. Trevor Adams was arrested and interviewed by the police for allegedly returning to Boshell’s body with Percival and removing his phone, but not a shred of evidence was found to even suggest that Adams had done such a thing and he was released without charge. The manhole cover from which Alvin claims Percival snapped off the lock had not been tampered with and the lock had not been broken.

Little wonder that none of these witnesses was required by the police to give evidence in court when Percival eventually stood trial.

14

  ONCE UPON A TIME . . .  

After signing the agreement to join
the witness-protection programme, Alvin was required to reveal everything he knew about crimes that he or others had committed. Whether it was stealing a sweet aged ten or blowing a friend’s brains out on an allotment, he was told that he would have to tell the police all the gory details. After blaming Percival for a variety of serious offences, including the Locksley Close shootings, the Wickford snooker club robbery, the murder of Dean Boshell and firearms offences, Alvin rolled up his sleeves and got down to the business of betraying his associates.

Starting with the trivial, Alvin accused former Raquels doorman Martin Hall and his father, Norman, of a whole host of crimes, including running what amounted to a distribution centre for stolen goods from their farm in Benfleet.

Martin and his family have been firm friends of mine since I first moved to Essex in the late 1980s. Martin and I worked together on some of the most violent nights Raquels ever knew and, as the good people of Basildon are aware, it has been the scene of a few. These days Martin runs a very successful clothing company, designing exclusive garments for numerous celebrities throughout the world. He is hardly the type to be mixed up in Alvin’s sordid business.

Alvin told police that Malcolm Walsh claimed to have ‘found’ a 40-foot trailer full of bicycles parked in a layby near Shoeburyness that belonged to Universal Cycles. Malcolm and others had apparently decided to steal a lorry so that they could pull the trailer to an empty industrial unit and access its lucrative cargo using brute force and a sledgehammer. After hooking up the trailer to the lorry, they drove into the industrial unit and secured the premises before going in search of a legally owned van to distribute the bikes. According to Alvin, the entire load ended up being delivered to Norman Hall’s farm.

The Halls were allegedly unable to sell the bikes because they were pedal-back cycles that were destined for Holland. As far as I know, a bicycle is a bicycle, whichever country it happens to be in.

My suspicions aroused, I contacted Universal Cycles and gave them a detailed account of Alvin’s version of events concerning the theft. I have to admit I was not surprised when the company told me that they have never had a trailerload of bicycles stolen that were ‘due to go to Holland’.

When I informed the Halls about the allegations Alvin had made, Martin said, ‘I am a friend of Ricky Percival, and Alvin told the police a lot of stories about people who just happened to know Ricky. The police must have known that Alvin was lying because nobody has ever visited our farm to ask about bicycles, guns, stolen lorries or any of the other nonsense he dreamt up to save himself from a prison sentence. I think it is disgusting that so much weight is being attached to an individual who is so transparently false. Apart from saying that my family resides on a farm, not a single word Alvin has said about us is true. He couldn’t even get our name right – Alvin told the police that my father and I were Norman and Martin
Hills.
I think that sums up the quality of his information.’

Alvin told the police that Percival believed he was untouchable after getting away with the Locksley Close shootings and the murder of Dean Boshell. Anybody who disrespected, displeased or dared to even dream of crossing him was in grave danger of being beaten, shot or murdered.

Alvin related a story about a dispute over drugs involving three men whom I shall call ‘Mickey Davies’, ‘John Neville’ and ‘Billy Smith’. Smith was a small-time cocaine dealer who had previously employed Davies and Neville to distribute his drugs. Davies and Neville one day gained entry to Smith’s flat using a stolen key. Once inside, they ransacked the premises and took half an ounce of cocaine. When Smith discovered that somebody had burgled his home, he certainly didn’t require the services of Sherlock Holmes to work out who had stolen his stash of cocaine. Smith phoned Neville immediately and warned him that he would be requiring an ambulance if the drugs were not returned. Neville blamed his habit for the indiscretion, apologised profusely and repaid Smith what he owed. Davies, on the other hand, was reluctant to hand over the cure for his craving. He ignored all calls to his phone and stayed clear of his usual haunts in an effort to avoid the inevitable confrontation with Smith.

According to Alvin, Smith’s older brother became involved at this stage. He thought that Davies and Neville were taking advantage of his younger brother and needed to be taught a lesson. When he saw Davies in the street, he chased after him, but Davies sought refuge in a nearby shop. Fearing he was about to witness a particularly brutal murder, the shopkeeper called the police. Smith’s brother made good his escape down the street, leaving Davies cowering under the counter.

Essex police received intelligence that Alvin and Percival had been involved in this incident and pinned letters to both their front doors. The letter informed them that information had been received concerning their intention to harm Davies and so they wished to make them aware that if anything did happen to him they would both be prosecuted.

Alvin told the police that he had no idea why they had pinned the note regarding Davies to his door. ‘Where this intelligence came from, I don’t know,’ he said. ‘This was a shock to us both because we didn’t have any issues with Davies whatsoever. I remember we both contacted the police about this. I told them that I hadn’t made any threats concerning Davies and had no reason to do so. If Davies stayed away from me, I would stay away from him. Percival’s approach was slightly different. He told the police that if he was going to do something, a piece of paper would not stop him. He had the raging hump over it – his name had been mentioned, his house had been visited by the police for no legitimate reason and he was being dragged into something that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

‘He never mentioned the matter to me again. I presumed the incident had died a death, but when I found myself sharing a cell with a guy named Steve Penfold at HMP Belmarsh in May 2003 he brought the subject up again. Penfold told me that Percival had approached him and asked him to shoot Davies. Penfold didn’t say why Percival wanted Davies shot but I did think that whatever the reason was, it was taking things to the extreme. But this is what Percival was like. He knew Penfold was the type of person who would carry out his request. Penfold would not shoot somebody’s kneecaps, he would stick a gun in your face and pull the trigger. He has numerous convictions for firearms and violence and this was not the first occasion that Percival had paid him to shoot somebody.

‘Penfold told me that he had actually obtained the shotgun that he was going to use in the shooting. On his way to do it he realised that he was being followed by a police car. This was near the A127 arterial road near Southend. As he crossed the junction, there was some sort of accident. I don’t know if Percival was directly involved, but he managed to get himself and his vehicle safely away. If Penfold had confronted Davies, wherever he was that night, I am sure that he would have shot him. I know Penfold was expecting some sort of payment from Percival, but whether this was through Smith and his brother I don’t know, as the original problem stemmed from them. It’s possible that Penfold went into more detail about the incident, but I can’t remember. All I remember him saying is that he managed to get back to a friend’s house.’

According to Alvin, another occasion when Penfold had been employed to shoot somebody had arisen when Percival had apparently become involved in an altercation at a nightclub in Basildon.

‘Percival was looking for somebody who owed him money,’ Alvin claimed. ‘I assume the money was owed for drugs. He’d been to the club on a couple of previous occasions and on his third visit he found the person he was after. I don’t know for sure, it’s only what I’ve been told, but I believe Percival confronted the man. The guy was terrified and he appealed to his friend for help. This friend went to fetch a bouncer that he knew in the club. Before Percival could do anything to the man he was taken into one of the offices by the bouncers and a knife was put to his throat. Percival told the bouncer that he was in the club to collect money that was owed to him. The bouncer turned the tables on Percival and said that he now owed him money for coming into the club and causing problems. Percival eventually obtained a phone number for the bouncer and a week or two later he rang him to say that he had the money that he had demanded from him. Percival suggested that they meet up so he could “give it to him” – he obviously had no intention of paying him.

‘By this time, the bouncer had been made aware who Percival was and apologised for his actions. He even made a cash offer to Percival to forget about it, but he declined payment and told the bouncer that any money he gave him would be burned. He told him that he was a dead man walking.

‘Penfold told me that Percival had paid him to go and shoot this bouncer. He might have told me his name, but I don’t recall it. Penfold explained how he had driven to a club where the bouncer was working and had lain in wait for him to come out. Penfold was in constant contact with Percival whilst he was waiting to shoot the man. After waiting for quite some time, Penfold said he realised that the bouncer wasn’t going to appear and so he went home.

‘From what Penfold told me, he had the shotgun with him, but he didn’t say where he had got it from. The money for the shooting had been paid up front by Percival; I think it was only a couple of hundred quid. Unfortunately, Penfold had spent the cash as soon as he had been given it and because he failed to shoot the bouncer it caused a bit of an atmosphere between him and Percival. The way he was talking to me about Percival, he knew that he wasn’t happy with him. Percival has never discussed this incident with me.

‘After I was released from HMP Belmarsh, Percival turned up at my home on a motorbike with Ronnie Tretton. Percival told me that he was going to shoot a bouncer who had threatened him. He said that he knew the man had relocated to either Clacton or the Colchester area to avoid him. Tretton was going to take him to the bouncer’s house and Percival was going to shoot him. He said that he intended to knock on the bouncer’s door and shoot him when he answered it. He wasn’t even bothered about having to shoot the man in front of his family. I remember telling him that it wasn’t worth it over something so trivial. When I said this, he sort of backed down. He agreed that it was a bit over the top and said he would just shoot him in the leg to teach him a lesson instead. I told him that we already had enough shit to contend with over the murder of Boshell and he should leave it. Percival just couldn’t let it go. The shooting never did take place. I cannot say why.’

Despite Alvin having given the police details of what were three separate conspiracies to commit murder, not one of the people named in the plots, including Percival, has ever been questioned in relation to these matters. Either the police did not believe Alvin or conspiracy to commit murder is not deemed a serious crime in Essex.

As well as other people’s alleged crimes, Alvin was required to disclose everything relating to his own criminal past to qualify as a protected witness. This included him divulging not only facts about the crimes themselves but also the stories that he had concocted to tell the police or had used in court to defend himself.

One incident of particular interest to the police was Alvin’s recent conviction for possessing a kilo of cocaine with intent to supply. Despite there being a substantial amount of evidence pointing towards Alvin being more than just an occasional small-time drug dealer, he had at the time refused to concede that the majority of his income had been earned from supplying drugs. The fact that Alvin had been arrested with large amounts of cash and a kilo of cocaine was, he said, coincidental. When asked to disclose the truth about the offence, Alvin claimed that a couple of his old customers had been ‘screaming out for cocaine’ and so, reluctantly, he had agreed to supply them one last time.

The man with whom Alvin said he had picked up the cocaine on the morning of his arrest turned out to be yet another character from the original
Essex Boys
story. Dean Power was a one-time friend and later victim of an infamous sadistic Essex gang leader named Jason Vella.

Throughout his short reign, Vella and his men had kidnapped, tortured and humiliated rivals in an attempt to keep their drug-dealing empire, which spanned across south-east Essex, running smoothly. Vella, who is always referred to as the ‘Tsar of Essex’ in the media, would force his victims to pose for degrading photographs, which would then be distributed amongst his cronies to cause the subject further humiliation.

I met Vella on several occasions when he visited Raquels nightclub in Basildon. He was never involved in any of the regular pitched battles fought at the club and was always polite. To my knowledge, he and his gang never attacked or assaulted people other than those involved in the murky world of drugs. I am not saying that Vella was not a cruel or violent man, but the Tsar of Essex is a title I think he might not be quite qualified to hold. That is only my view; my brother-in-law and Vella’s numerous victims may not agree.

I mention my brother-in-law because one evening whilst Vella was fooling around with a loaded handgun he accidentally shot him in the chest. Whilst recovering from life-saving surgery in a private room at Basildon hospital, my brother-in-law was visited by his deeply religious mother. Everybody who knew her, including Vella, was aware of her devout Christian and clean-living views. Because he had been heavily sedated, my brother-in-law was unaware that Vella and his friends had paid him a visit and had left laughing hysterically moments before his mother arrived. Awoken from his deep slumber by cries of anguish, my brother-in-law struggled to sit upright in bed and pleaded with his mother to tell him what was happening.