Riot-accused 'blamed police' for unrest after deaths

Riot police were deployed in Ely to try to contain the crowds following the incident

A man accused of taking part in a riot after a fatal crash said police were to blame for the unrest following the deaths of two teenagers, a court has heard.

Eight people are on trial at Newport Crown Court charged with rioting in May 2023 when violence broke out following the deaths of two teenage boys in Ely in Cardiff.

One of the defendants, Jaydan Baston, 21, told police in an interview "two of your lads killed two of our lads - that's how people think about it".

All eight defendants deny the charge of rioting.

Disorder broke out following the deaths of Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, who were killed when their e-bike crashed on Snowden Road on 22 May 2023.

The court heard rumours quickly started that police had been chasing them in the moments before they died.

But the court also heard the riots were "punctuated by kindness" with the jury shown pictures of residents giving out water and lemonade to police officers at the height of the violence.

Twenty-three police officers were treated in hospital following the unrest and 14 vehicles were damaged, some extensively, including two police cars, jurors were told.

Lee Robinson, 38, from Caerau; McKenzie Danks, 22, from Caerau; Michaela Gonzales, 37, from Ely; Zayne Farrugia, 25, from Caerau; Jordan Bratcher, 27, from Llanishen; Jaydan Baston, 21, from Caerau; Connor O'Sullivan, 26, from Ely; and Luke Williams, 31, from Caerau, deny the charge of riot.

Litter and burnt cars were left on the street after trouble flared in Ely, Cardiff, in May 2023

Mr Baston was arrested and questioned in September 2023, three months after the riots, and said: "It doesn't make sense to me - you are trying to punish people who have just lost their friends.

"You should be looking at the police. They done everything wrong, if they had done it right, nothing would have happened."

He admitted throwing an item at police but said it had not hit anyone.

"I shouldn't be here," he told them.

McKenzie Danks was arrested on 26 June 2023 and said in his police interview he had gone to see what was happening because he was "being nosy".

He said he had refused to move as he wanted to get to his sister's house but did start to move backwards once police pushed the crowd back.

"I fell over a bike, got booted in the face and as I got back up I got whacked with a baton," he explained.

He said he reacted by throwing his sliders at the officer because he was "angry".

Mr Danks told police he left the scene at about 21:00 BST and did not return but the court was played video of a man identified by police as him close to the police line at 23:13.

Zayne Farrugia was arrested on 15 December 2023 and answered "no comment" to most of the questions but offered some background to the events.

He referred to Harvey Evans and Kyrees Sullivan as "respected boys" and said people "had a lot of love for them" and "wanted to show their support".

Luke Williams was arrested on 25 May 2023 and, when interviewed, answered mainly "no comment" but a prepared statement was read saying he "did not incite, cause or encourage anyone to commit any act of violence".

The jury was then played a number of videos from Mr Williams live-streaming from the night which appeared to show him shouting abuse at officers and shouting encouragement to rioters.

Jordan Bratcher, who was arrested on 20 September 2023, answered "no comment" to all questions.

Connor O'Sullivan, who was arrested on 2 June 2023, answered "no comment" to all questions, while Michaela Gonzalez, who was arrested on 26 June 2023, also answered "no comment" to all questions.

The trial continues.