A beloved Leeds teenager was dragged from a taxi, stabbed and “murdered” by a rival drugs gang in a “vicious, brutal, barbaric and sustained attack”, a court has heard.
Eighteen-year-old Jamie Meah was said to have been targeted by four men who then fled the country following the attack in Hall Lane, Armley, on March 31, 2023.
Ranei Wilks, 23, was arrested at Leeds Bradford Airport after getting off a flight from Antalya, Turkey, last year. Prosecutor Imran Shafi told Leeds Crown Court on Monday, January 6 that Aqade Jeffers, Caleb Awe and Enham Nishat, are still at large.
Mr Wilks, of no fixed abode, is currently standing trial accused of the murder of Mr Meah, the attempted murder of another man – Kayne Priestley – and two counts of possession of an article with a blade or point on March 31, 2023, and July 24, 2022.
In his opening to jurors on Monday, Mr Shafi said: “In summary, this case concerns the murder of a young man, Jamie Meah, who was 18-year’s-old at the time of his death. The killing arises, we say, out of a dispute between groups dealing drugs in the Leeds area.
Ranei Wilks is standing trial accused of Jamie’s murder
(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
“We say the defendant was affiliated with one group and the deceased to a rival group. It appears both groups were actively engaged in dealing drugs. On the 31st March, the deceased and Kayne Priestley took a taxi to various locations. The final, fatal destination was in Hall Lane and it would appear the two of them were engaged in dealing drugs.
“At Hall Lane, Kayne Priestley got out and began to approach a customer and almost immediately recognised an individual in a Mercedes and ran back to the taxi, he felt for good reason.”
The court heard three men exited the Mercedes, and “at least one of them – we say the defendant – was armed with a weapon.”
Flowers left for Jamie after his tragic passing
(Image: LeedsLive)
An eyewitness described Mr Wilks as holding a “machete.” The prosecution said this blade was different to the “zombie knife” he was found to be in possession of in July the year before.
Mr Shafi said: “Kane Priestley and Jamie Meah were dragged out of the taxi and subjected to a vicious, sustained, barbaric and brutal assault. Both men were seriously injured – Jamie Meah fatally. Shortly after he died from his injuries.”
The court was told that Jamie managed to flee, as did a shirtless Mr Priestley, who sought help in a nearby fish and chip shop. It was said that Jamie was seen by a woman soon after and he told her he needed an ambulance, but when she returned he had gone. She later spotted blood and found him slumped against a fence.
The late Jamie Meah
Mr Shafi said a post-mortem examination carried out after his death found Jamie had suffered a wound to his right hip, one to his right thigh, which had severed an artery and caused a “catastrophic haemorrhage” that led to his death, a stab wound to his calf, a cut to his lower leg and a small abrasion to his neck.
He said the silver Mercedes was found abandoned in Bradford on April 5, 2023 and the defendant and Mr Jeffers, Mr Awe and Mr Nishat had fled to Liverpool and then onto Ireland.
The prosecutor said: “On 5th April, all four suspects were arrested for a relatively petty theft but were only detained for a short time. The Garda were unaware of the serious incident in Leeds and all were released. All four appeared to have fled further afield. The other three are still at large.
Leeds Crown Court
“The victim, Kayne Priestley, was spoken to a number of times but was not cooperative with the prosecution or investigation and has refused to provide a formal statement. Notwithstanding that, we say there is ample evidence from eyewitnesses, and medical evidence to convict Ranei Wilks of attempted murder.
“Ranei Wilks was arrested for murder, attempted murder and possession of a bladed article just after 6pm on 18th April last year, just a little over a year after the incident. He was arrested at Leeds Bradford Airport having just come off a flight from Antalya, Turkey.”
The trial continues.
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