Footballer murdered over drug dispute, jury hears
Footballer Shaki Crockwell was shot dead because his killer felt cheated over a drug-selling deal, a prosecutor alleged.Maria Sofianos told a jury that Derek Spalding, 36, of Pembroke, met Mr Crockwell inside prison and arranged for the latter to sell drugs for him once he was released.However, he did not receive any money for the drugs he supplied to Mr Crockwell.“There is a saying in Bermuda; the defendant felt he was getting ‘a six for a nine’. In other words, he was being short-changed by Mr Crockwell,” alleged Ms Sofianos.She said that after Mr Spalding was released from prison, he met Mr Crockwell on the Railway Trail in Devonshire on August 24, 2007. The pretext for him arranging the meeting was that another package of drugs was to be handed over.However, Ms Sofianos said: “When Mr Crockwell turned to urinate, the defendant came up and shot him in the back of the head.”Mr Spalding is charged with the premeditated murder of Mr Crockwell, 25, from Pembroke, who played for the Boulevard Blazers football team. He is further charged with using a firearm to commit an indictable offence. He denies the charges.Police forensic officer Jewel Hayward told the jury Mr Crockwell was wearing a white bulletproof vest under a green hooded top with a pair of jeans when his body was found.The victim was photographed by Detective Constable Hayward lying on his back in the middle of the trail in a pool of blood. His legs were crossed, his pants were open and his penis was partially exposed. A black motorcycle was parked nearby and police found a condom wrapper near a fence about three feet away from the body. Mr Crockwell’s driving licence was also lying nearby.The second prosecution witness was a man who cannot be named by the media due to a reporting restriction imposed by Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves at the request of the prosecution. The witness told the jury he arrived to feed a colony of feral cats at Ocean View Golf Course around 9.20pm or 9.25pm on the date in question.He heard loud reggae music coming from the Railway Trail and saw bright lights, and assumed both came from a car.He told the jury: “I heard what I believed was a gun shot and it struck me as unusual.” He explained he looked at his watch to check the time and it was 9.30pm.Two days later, on Sunday, August 26, he heard about the murder on the news and contacted police to tell them what he had heard.The case continues.