Jury discharged in Deepcar laughing gas heist death trial

The jury in the trial of three men accused of killing a courier during a gun-point robbery has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict.

Arron Hartigan, Jake Lakin, and Callum Rutherford were charged with the manslaughter of Nadeem Qureshi.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Mr Qureshi died after being run down by a van in Deepcar, South Yorkshire, in July 2019.

All three men denied the charge as well as charges of conspiracy to commit robbery and a firearms offence.

The jury was discharged on Thursday after failing to reach verdicts on any of the three counts.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it intended to seek a retrial.

During the trial prosecutors said Mr Qureshi, 40, from Manchester, had travelled to Deepcar with two colleagues to deliver nitrous oxide canisters.

It was alleged the defendants had ordered the men out of the van at gunpoint in a bid to steal the consignment.

The court was told Mr Qureshi did get out and was standing next to the van when his colleague, Massimo Rizzelli, reversed the vehicle in a bid to escape and struck him.

Mr Hartigan, 26, of no fixed abode, Mr Lakin, 22, of Smithy Moor Avenue, Stocksbridge, and Mr Rutherford, 26, of Lee Avenue, Deepcar, deny the charges.

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