Three thugs killed man, 56, after ‘stamping and jumping’ on him during alleyway robbery
THREE thugs killed a man after “repeatedly stamping and jumping” on him in an alleyway robbery.
The three men from Bournemouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 56-year-old Michael Bastable at Winchester Crown Court on July 8.
Damien Sean Johnson, 31, Hayden Johnson, 29, and Dominic MacDonald, 30, also pleaded guilty to charges of robbery relating to the incident involving Mr Bastable and a second incident on January 19.
In addition, Damien and Hayden Johnson both entered guilty pleas to a third robbery on January 21.
Dorset Police were notified at 3.03pm on January 14 by a member of the public who found Mr Bastable’s unresponsive body in an alleyway near Shelbourne Road.
Paramedics pronounced Mr Bastable dead at the scene.
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Tests were carried out by the ambulance crew which indicated he had suffered a gastro-intestinal bleed, the reports.
Cops initially treated the death as not suspicious, however two days later they were notified by the victim’s brother who said he had been to Mr Bastable’s home and found his bike missing.
He also returned to the scene where his brother had been found and discovered items in the area that the believed had belonged to Mr Bastable.
It was later found that the victim’s bank card had been used after his death and an investigation was launched.
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CCTV footage showed Mr Bastable walking in the direction of the alleyway shortly before 3pm, with the three defendants seen in the area just moments later.
Further footage showed the defendants leaving the alleyway, with Hayden Johnson riding a bicycle.
Hayden Johnson took a Scott mountain bike into Cash Generator in Christchurch Road at 3.40pm on the same day and sold it for £100.
A post-mortem carried out on January 26, indicated Mr Bastable had died from injuries to his stomach area that were consistent with him being repeatedly stamped or jumped on while lying on his back on the ground.
The defendants also attacked a man in Christchurch Road on January 19, stealing £460 in cash.
Another man was assaulted two days later by three men in the basement area of an address in Christchurch Road.
He was hit with a baseball bat and the men stole his wallet and watch.
The Johnson brothers were identified from CCTV footage of the incident.
Hayden Johnson also sold a watch matching the one stolen in the robbery at Cash Generator the next day.
Detective Inspector Wayne Seymour, of MCIT, said: “We carried out a comprehensive investigation with a meticulous review of vast amounts of CCTV footage to piece together the movements of these three men in the moments leading up to and following the sad death of Michael Bastable.
“Through this work we were able to prove that these men were involved in a joint enterprise to target Mr Bastable and subjected him to a violent robbery, which had fatal consequences.
“We were also able to compile evidence to prove their involvement in further robberies, which were also of a violent nature and extremely distressing for the victims involved.
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“Our thoughts remain with the family of Mr Bastable and I would like to thank them for the support they have offered throughout our investigation and the court process.”
The three men are due to be sentenced on July 15.
