15/12/06 - 'Supergrass' turned trial on its head
By David Giles, Essex Evening Echo
The Dean Boshell murder case was turned on its head last September when Damon Alvin decided to turn supergrass and give evidence against Ricky Percival.
Mr Alvin, 33, formerly of Rushbottom Lane, Ben-fleet, was originally charged with the murder but was formally cleared following his evidence to police.
He said the final straw in deciding to turn Queen's evidence was discovering Percival was trying to bribe and intimidate jurors in his trial.
Percival has always denied this.
However, when Alvin made the suggestion in court, it was the only time throughout the trial that Percival lost his cool and swore from the dock.
Defending Percival, Andrew Bright QC repeatedly alleged that Alvin was lying to save his own skin.
The judge in the case, Christopher Ball QC, told the jury in his summing up the credibility of Mr Alvin was key to the whole case.
When Mr Alvin was giving evidence, the prosecution asked why he had decided to confess to every crime he had ever committed and not just tell the police about Mr Boshell's murder.
He said: "The police wanted me to come clean about all my criminal activity.
"It crossed my mind that what I was admitting were serious crimes.
"In 2004 I decided that was going to be the end of my criminal activity and I wanted to be with my family.
"I never wanted there to be a knock on my door and other offences coming back to haunt me."
Now the Percival trial has finished, Mr Alvin will be sentenced in mid January on the crimes he has admitted, including perverting the course of justice, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, robbery and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
