Man charged with murder of Sheffield dad previously jailed amid '˜drugs dispute' shooting

One of the men charged with murdering Sheffield dad Grant Bodell was jailed after being involved in a drug dispute where a man was shot, a court heard.
Father-of-two Grant Bodell,  Windy House Lane, Manor, was found dead on June 21, 2014Father-of-two Grant Bodell,  Windy House Lane, Manor, was found dead on June 21, 2014
Father-of-two Grant Bodell, Windy House Lane, Manor, was found dead on June 21, 2014

Father-of-two Grant Bodell, aged 23, was killed in a shooting on Manor Fields Park in the early hours of June 21, 2014.

Sheffield Crown Court heard yesterday that Marvis Smith, 30, who is one of four defendants charged with the murder, was jailed in 2003 for bring part of a ‘joint enterprise’ where a man was shot in the leg.

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Under cross examination Smith told the court: “I didn’t shoot him... I was present when someone was shot.”

When Adrian Waterman, prosecuting, asked whether the shooting was part of a drugs dispute, Smith said: “Yes, it was.”

But Smith added that he didn’t know exactly what the quarrel had been about.

Anthony Bury, representing Smith, asked his client about the night of the murder.

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Smith told the court: “It’s not a special night to me. Nothing was special for me to remember what happened that night.”

Mr Bury said Smith had been taking drugs on the day the Mr Bodell was shot.

Smith said: “I would have been smoking cannabis. I smoke it every day.”

The jury was read transcripts of conversations Smith had with associates immediately after his arrest in November 2014.

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The recordings came after police fitted a device to a car he was being driven in.

In the recording Smith said he would ‘smoke’ people he believed had informed on him to police.

When Mr Bury asked if he would have done it, Smith replied: “I would never have done it and I had plenty of time to do it before my arrest.”

In the recording Smith said he ‘came up there to defend the cause’.

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Mr Bury said: “It might be said that you were referring to the shooting on the hill.”

Smith replied: “I’m just talking about friends in general, supporting people in the area.”

Marvis Smith, 30, of Park Grange Road, Norfolk Park, Torrington Smith, 26, of Samuel Close, Norfolk Park, Stevin Pierre, 24, of Waterslacks Close, Woodhouse, and Brendon McFarlane, 22, of Hyde Park Terrace, Park Hill, all deny murder. The trial continues.

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