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Dwaine Haughton: Shotgun murder took 18 seconds, jury told

It took 18 seconds for a gunman to find and fatally wound 24-year-old murder victim Dwaine Haughton, a jury heard.

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Dwaine Haughton

The culprit was travelling with three other men in an Audi A7 - stolen in a car key burglary in Wolverhampton the previous day - after the team had spent a week carefully planning the hit, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

"All they had to do was to find Dwaine Haughton and kill him," said Mr Michael Burrows QC, prosecuting, who added they knew where members of the victim's family lived and it was "not unusual" for him to be in the area.

Mr Haughton died in July 2018

Apparently by chance they entered Valley Road, in Park Village, from the opposite direction moments after the Peugeot 207 being driven by Barrington Clarke - a cousin of the Mr Haughton who was sitting alongside him - came to a standstill in the street. There was no suggestion they had been following the vehicle.

The occupants of the Audi spotted the other car, drew alongside and came to a halt just a few feet away, the court heard. At least one man got out of the car and fired several shots into the Peugeot, hitting Mr Haughton in the head causing terrible injuries, continued the prosecutor.

Mr Clarke immediately put the car into reverse and sped off to New Cross Hospital.

The case so far:

CCTV cameras captured the car leaving Valley Road 19 seconds after the Audi, seen trawling around the area at around 15mph, had been driven into the street on July 20 last year. The A7, which was torched the following day, left seven seconds later.

Dc Spencer Francis the CCTV co-ordinator for the murder investigation, told the jury: "We know they can have been together no more than 18 seconds."

The shooting took place out of the view of security cameras.

CCTV footage of the Peugeot's arrival at the hospital was shown to the jury. The car halted in the middle of the road opposite the entrance to the A&E department from which medical staff dashed to offer assistance, putting the grievously wounded man onto a stretcher and rushing him into the building.

Mr Haughton was transferred to Birmingham's QE Hospital but died soon afterwards.

Dwain Smith, 26, of Chainmakers Close, Bilston; Seamus Williams, 23, of Okemont Drive, Wednesbury, and Montell Gray, of Springfield Road, Wednesbury, together with Kurrum Guild, of Oakthorpe Gardens, all deny murder, possession of a firearm and ammunition to endanger life and handling a stolen car. Smith, Williams and Guild also plead not guilty to arson.

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