Ramarni Crosby: Rival group fight ended in teen's death

An arranged fight between two rival groups of teenagers resulted in a 16-year-old boy's death, Bristol Crown Court has heard.

Ramarni Crosby, from Gloucestershire, died after suffering multiple stab wounds on 15 December 2021.

He was fatally stabbed while facing eight youths, some armed with machetes and knives, and was later seen on CCTV collapsing to the floor, jurors heard.

Eight people, including five youths, accused of his murder deny the charges.

Callum Charles-Quebella, 18, Levi Cameron, 18, and Dean Smith, 20, appeared at Bristol Crown Court earlier for the opening of the trial.

They appeared along with three 17-year-old boys and two 16-year-old boys who cannot be named because of their age.

Two groups were involved in the fight, which took place in Gloucester.

One group included Ramarni and four friends while the other contained the eight defendants, the jury heard.

CCTV and doorbell cameras from around the town centre captured the two groups making their way towards each other and they came together on Stratton Road.

One of Ramarni's friends told police that as the group of eight defendants approached, he realised that some of them were carrying weapons.

He said there was an encounter and him and the others in his group ran off but Ramarni stayed and started "swinging punches" at the defendant group, the court heard.

The witness added that he did not see Ramarni get stabbed but he said there was "a lot of weapons and all of them on Ramarni".

Prosecutor Adam Vaitilingam KC told the jury that the stabbing was not caught on any camera.

"What you do see is Ramarni's group approaching and then running away and being chased by the defendant group," he said.

"Ramarni was the last to run away and, after he'd run a short distance, he collapsed on the street.

"An ambulance was called and paramedics and doctors did what they could to save him, but he had been fatally injured."

After Ramarni had been killed the defendants went off in different directions, the jury heard.

None of them were arrested at the scene.

"That meant that they had time to get rid of anything incriminating, including the weapons and - for some of them - their mobile phones," Mr Vaitilingam told the jury.

"A machete was thrown into the canal and later recovered by police divers and it had clear links to these defendants.

"Two knives and a meat cleaver were also found hidden in drains near to the scene of the killing."

Ramarni had several stab wounds to his back and one to his skull.

Smith, of Lannett Road, Cameron, of Stanway Road, and Charles-Quebella, of Midland Road, all Gloucester, and their five co-accused deny murder.

Charles-Quebella has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

A ninth defendant, Keishaleigh Margrett-Whitter, 20, of Lyncroft Road, Tyseley, Birmingham, denies two charges of assisting an offender.

She allegedly gave two defendants a change of clothing, allowed them to use her mobile phone, swapped sim cards and organised taxis.

The trial continues.

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