Kevin Nunes murder case: Possible police charges
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
is to consider charging 14 serving and
former police officers, including two
current Chief Constables, over their
roles in a murder investigation.
The Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC) looked at how the
officers acted prior to the trial of five
men over the death of Kevin Nunes.
Seven of the officers involved have
retired from Staffordshire Police.
Mr Nunes was shot dead in Pattingham,
Staffordshire, in September 2002.
The IPCC investigation examined the
officers' dealings with a protected
witness and disclosure issues before the
trial in 2008.
The four most senior-ranking officers
implicated are:
Gloucestershire Chief Constable
Suzette Davenport
Northamptonshire Chief Constable
Adrian Lee
Staffordshire Deputy Chief
Constable Jane Sawers
West Midlands Assistant Chief
Constable Marcus Beale
They were all senior officers at
Staffordshire Police at the time of the
allegations.
Execution-style killing
In March 2012 five West Midlands men
who were jailed in 2008 for the murder
were freed on appeal, after it emerged
concerns over the credibility of the key
prosecution witness were not disclosed
to the defence.
Police believe Mr Nunes had been a drug
dealer who was shot in an execution-
style killing after straying into another
gang's territory.
The IPCC has reviewed more than 8,000
documents and taken about 300
statements as part of their investigation
and interviewed each of the 14 officers
at least twice.
IPCC commissioner Tom Davies said:
"This has been a thorough and
painstaking investigation which has
required careful scrutiny of thousands of
documents and hundreds of statements,
and interviews have been carried out
with relevant officers."
In a statement, Staffordshire Police said:
"We've been made aware of today's
development and now await the outcome
of the CPS review. We will continue to
fully cooperate with the IPCC-led
investigation."
Evidence has been passed to the CPS
relating to five officers, up to the rank of
detective chief inspector, who were part
of the Staffordshire Police sensitive
policing unit responsible for handling
protected witnesses, the IPCC said.
It added that three of the five officers
are retired from the force.
The IPCC said a file would be sent to the
CPS in coming weeks about a further
nine officers, of the rank of
superintendent and above, who held
senior positions at the force.
Four of those are still serving within
police forces, while four of the nine
officers are retired from Staffordshire
Police.
Levi Walker, from Birmingham, Adam
Joof, from Willenhall, West Midlands,
Antonio Christie, from Great Bridge, West
Midlands, Michael Osbourne and Owen
Crooks, both from Wolverhampton had
their murder convictions quashed after
being found guilty at Leicester Crown
Court in 2008.
