Deepcar: Man denies luring courier to fatal heist

A man has denied luring a courier to a gun-point heist in South Yorkshire during which he was run over and killed by a panicked colleague.

Callum Rutherford, 26, told Sheffield Crown Court he intended to buy nitrous oxide from delivery men he had arranged to meet in Deepcar, near Sheffield.

Prosecutors say Nadeem Qureshi died in a botched robbery in July 2019 planned by Mr Rutherford and two friends.

The three defendants deny manslaughter, robbery and a firearms offence.

The court was told that courier Mr Qureshi, 40, had travelled by van with colleagues Sean Wright and Massimo Rizzeli on 24 July to meet Mr Rutherford at secluded wasteland.

The couriers were transporting a shipment of nitrous oxide cannisters which the defendant, using a fake name, had arranged to buy from the Bolton-based catering firm which employed them.

At the drop-off site in Station Road in Deepcar, a white 4x4 vehicle approached the couriers and a gunman pointed his weapon at them and ordered them to get out of their van, the court heard.

Mr Qureshi got out and was standing beside the Ford Transit when Mr Rizzelli suddenly reversed the van, hitting him and inflicting "catastrophic" injuries from which he died, the jury was told.

Prosecutors said Mr Rutherford and his alleged accomplices, Arron Hartigan, 25, and Jake Lakin, 22, were responsible for Mr Qureshi's death as it resulted from the suspected robbery.

Giving evidence on Thursday, Mr Rutherford said he had arranged to buy the nitrous oxide from a seller found on Facebook and had brought between £3,500 and £4,000 to the meeting point.

The gas is used in the catering industry to carbonate drinks and in whipped cream canisters, but can also be taken as a psychoactive drug, the court heard.

Mr Rutherford said he had driven to Station Road in his Volkswagen Tiguan with a friend to complete the purchase.

He told the court he was waiting to meet the couriers when "the van came shooting past me", followed by a Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 he said was driven by Mr Hartigan.

He said Mr Lakin then approached his car, climbed into a rear passenger seat and told him to follow the Mitsubishi as it drove after the van.

Mr Rutherford told the jury he was "baffled" about what was happening, but complied with the instruction.

He told the court: "He said to follow Arron. He was shook up. I didn't know what was going on. He said, 'I think there's a man down'."

Mr Rutherford denied that the vehicles were involved in a "chase" and said he wanted to "make sure Arron's all right".

He said he had followed Mr Hartigan's vehicle until it pulled into a side road, where Mr Lakin climbed out of his car and got into the 4x4 before the two vehicles went their separate ways.

Mr Rutherford denied that CCTV footage showed him attempting to hide a weapon later that day.

Mr Hartigan, of no fixed abode, Mr Lakin, of Smithy Moor Avenue, Stocksbridge, and Mr Rutherford, of Lee Avenue, Deepcar, all deny manslaughter, conspiracy to commit robbery and having an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

The trial continues.

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