A teenager was shot in the stomach, chased until

A teenager was shot in the stomach, chased until
he collapsed in the street then summarily ‘executed’ with a
bullet in the brain, the Old Bailey heard today Tuesday.

Three brothers stand trial for the cold-blooded murder of
Mr Wesley Barnett, 25, but their precise motive remains a mystery,
the jury was told.

Mr David Calvert Smith, prosecuting, said it was known
there was ‘bad feeling’ between Mr Barnett, and brothers Horace
Hills, 28, Maurice Hills, 20, and Roger Hills, 23.

But when interviewed the trio claimed they had nothing
to do with the shooting.

On February 7 Mr Barnett went to Westbrook House, Notre
Dame Estate, Clapham, where two of the brothers lived.

‘Why Mr Barnett went to Westbrook House no one can say,’ said
counsel.

‘As he mounted a flight of stairs Mr Barnett was shot form
above by Maurice Hills
‘The bullet passed through the stomach and lodged in his
buttock.

‘
Mr Barnett – ‘a fit young man’ – managed to run off and the
brothers jumped into a car to hunt him down, it was alleged.

When the victim got to Crescent Lane, Clapham, he stopped a
passer-by and told her he had been shot.

By then Mr Barnett was staggering and incoherent and the
woman initially thought he was drunk, but went to call the police.

As she walked away a car passed and Mr Barnett shouted:
‘That’s them.

‘
Two men got out of the car and fearing that she would be shot
too, the woman went to a nearby off-licence to raise the alarm.

Meanwhile a motorist allegedly saw Maurice Hills carry out
‘what amounted to the execution of Wesley Barnett’ in his rear
view mirror, said Mr Calvert-Smith.

‘Mr Barnett was either lying down or crouching when the
bullet was fired, obviously quite defenceless.

‘The murderers were determined to finish him off if they
could.

‘He was shot once in the head.

By the time the ambulance
arrived Mr Barnett was beyond help.

‘
As the brothers fled Maurice Hills was said to have
shouted at passers by: ‘You didn’t see nothing.

‘
Counsel claimed he carried out the murder, and that his
brothers must have been ‘encouraging and assisting him.

‘
Twelve days later Maurice Hills, who shared a flat at
Westbrook House with Horace, was arrested.

He told detectives he was not at the scene at the time of the
killing and claimed he watched the police operation from his flat.

Anyone who had seen him carrying out the murder there
‘had a serious eye defect,’ he said.

But, the court heard, a passer-by who was warned to
keep silent by Maurice later picked him out on an identity parade.

Roger Hills, who lived with his mother in nearby Nelson Row,
allegedly said he was at the flat in Westbrook House dealing cannabis
when the murder took place.

‘I saw the blue lights and I thought they were coming for me,’
he claimed.

He said he then ran to his home to avoid the police.

Horace Hills said he too was at the flat and also ran to
his mother’s home to avoid ‘a raid.

‘
All three brothers deny murder.

The trial continues.

ENDS