Murder-accused claims victim’s family posted £50,000 bounty on his head – court

A defendant accused of shooting a man in a row over a stolen motorbike has claimed he made omissions to police after the victim’s family posted a £50,000 bounty on his head.

Rico Andrews, 21, was blasted in the chest at point-blank range by a pillion passenger on a moped in Battersea, south-west London, on October 5 2023, the Old Bailey was told previously.

The alleged gunman, Joshua Eno, 25, has said Mr Andrews accidentally pulled the trigger on himself when the two men “ended up scrabbling” shortly before 10pm.

The defendant spent three weeks at large and, after his arrest on October 26, did not tell police Mr Andrews’ injuries were accidentally self-inflicted, the court heard on Wednesday.

Jurors were previously told the key issue to consider would likely be whether Eno was armed and shot Mr Andrews, or if the deceased’s own gun went off in the struggle.

Giving evidence in his trial, Eno said he had made omissions to police in fear he would be dubbed a snitch and face reprisals.

“There were a good few people threatening me,” he said, adding that he learned of this during his three weeks at large.

Eno said the threats included ones by Mr Andrews’ family who he said had put the bounty up “to slice me”.

The defendant said this meant “slice my face or neck” and claimed people had tried to do that.

Judge Philip Katz KC asked “who did you think you might snitching on?” and Eno responded “Rico”.

The judge put to him that “he was dead” and the defendant said: “It doesn’t matter. It’s not good to be a snitch.

“Just being a snitch in prison, anyone would try and hurt them in prison”.

It was put to Eno that “you said you never touch the gun” and “so the gun went off in Rico’s hand”, which the defendant said was correct.

However, he claimed he would still be deemed a snitch if he told officers it was an accident and Mr Andrews shot himself.

Eno added: “That’s why I didn’t speak to the police and tell them, because I was scared.”

James Mulholland KC, defending, asked him why he was scared and Eno said: “Anything you say to the police, as soon as you open your mouth, you’re a grass.”

Mr Mulholland asked what would have happened if he had told police that “during the course of the struggle I twisted his wrist” and the gun went off.

The defendant, wearing a white shirt, said: “The fact that I spoke to the police and basically tried to say it was his fault, that’s only going to infuriate them even more.”

Prosecutor Brian O’Neill KC previously said the moped was being driven by Tyrone Attwood and that there is no dispute that Eno was one of the people on the vehicle.

Last week he told jurors: “Rico Andrews was shot and killed because of a dispute about a motorbike which had been stolen earlier the same day by Mr Eno and Mr Attwood in the course of a robbery at BMW Battersea.

“That motorbike had been stolen from where they had parked it following the robbery.

“Believing that Rico Andrews had stolen it from them, they sought him out and went to confront him.

“In the course of that confrontation Joshua Eno produced a firearm and shot Rico Andrews in the chest at point-blank range.”

The court was told that Eno and Attwood were convicted of the robbery of the motorbike from the Battersea BMW dealership, valued at £19,995, even though it has never been recovered.

Eno, from Tooting, south-west London, has denied murder and the trial continues.