Northampton murder: Two men guilty of drug debt shooting

Joshua Bains was shot dead in the Upton area of Northampton

Two men have been convicted of murdering a father-of-two following a dispute over £40 he was owed for drugs.

Joshua Bains, 28, was shot dead in a "very quick confrontation" in the Upton area of Northampton in October last year.

Jerome Smikle, 27, and Kayongo Shuleko, 26, were both found guilty of his murder at the end of a six-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

A third man, Lewis Carmody, 22, was found guilty of assisting an offender.

In CCTV footage shown in court, Mr Bains could be seen falling to the ground after shots were fired in Webb Drive.

Jurors heard members of the public, including a surgeon, attempted first aid on Mr Bains.

After the murder, Smikle, of St Leonard's Road in Far Cotton, and Shuleko, of Cornwallis Avenue in Edmonton, "suddenly upped sticks and left Northampton, fleeing to London".

(L-R) Jerome Smikle, Kayongo Shuleko, and Lewis Carmody were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court

Carmody, of Walker Street in Upton, helped the two men travel to London and attempted to destroy evidence.

He was arrested the next day and Smikle and Shuleko were arrested following a police operation in Dunster Road in The Mounts, Northampton, later in October.

In February, the two guns they used to shoot Mr Bains with were found by a dog-walker in Quinton, six miles away from the murder scene.

In a statement, Mr Bains family said that he was "a truly beautiful person in every way and his death has left a huge gap in our lives".

"He was caring and thoughtful towards his family and a loyal friend. He was a fantastic son, brother and partner, and father to two wonderful children."

Smikle, Shuleko and Carmody are due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday.