| Wannabe in my gang?
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05/10/03 - Dead man walking
By Robert Kellaway
News of the World
HITMAN'S TARGET: Up to 40 bullets were
fired at minder Dave King |
EXCLUSIVE: Celeb bodyguard murder victim
had string of gangland enemies out gunning for him
A CELEBRITY minder blasted to death with an AK47 assault
rifle had a string of gangland enemies.
Dave King - who had guarded Robbie Williams and
Nigel Benn - was killed outside a health club in
a quiet market town.
A drive-by gunman in a van fired up to 40 bullets as
King, 32, left the gym with a friend.
For King had offended major underworld figures who
wanted revenge, one-time gangland enforcer John Rollinson
revealed last night.
Muppet
"Dave King started wars between people,"
said Rollinson, 51. "He would rip off respected
figures.
TEARS: King's brother shows his grief
at scene of Dave's death |
"There are three family firms he upset in a big way.
He set people against each other and people he knew started
getting arrested.
"He began to think he could treat everybody like
a muppet and that is what cost him his life. People
in this business are not respected for nothing - if
you cross them they react. King pushed it a step too
far."
Rollinson said King once stabbed him with a Bowie knife
during a pub brawl.
"I beat the granny out of him and he came at me
with the knife. But he couldn't even finish that job
properly, he didn't do me much harm. He had trouble
showing respect to anyone and he's paid the price. He
was a traitor.
FLOWERS: Card left outside club |
"It wasn't a question of IF he was going - just a
question of WHEN."
A police source said: "Mr King had a chequered
past and is thought to have made lots of enemies along
the way."
The killing was carried out at Hoddesdon, Herts, on
Friday by two men wearing balaclavas. Their white Peugeot
van was later found burned out. Bouquets of flowers
were yesterday laid at the Physical Limit health club.
Precise
Superintendent Steve Read, who is leading the murder
hunt, said "It was a very precise, planned attack
targeted at Mr King."
CLUES: Police search gym alley |
He said dad-of-three King's girlfriend Rebecca was distraught.
The friend who was with him when the assassins struck
suffered minor injuries. He has not been named for his
own protection.
THREE men injured in a drive-by shooting at Reading,
Berks, on Friday were yesterday said to be respectable
members of the community. A resident said: "They're
all nice people - none is involved in drugs."
Police said the attack was not linked to the Hoddesdon
murder. Two victims were released from hospital. The third
had surgery for facial injuries. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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