Crabtree murder trial: Man admits killing Mihai Dobre in Peterborough shooting

A man has admitted killing a ‘drugs runner’ in a shooting in Peterborough, a jury has been told.

Mihai Dobre, 29, died after being shot in the head in the early hours of Wednesday, April 13, last year, as he was sitting in his car, with his partner, Ana Seling, by his side.

Lewis Hutchinson, 29, of Eastern Avenue, Peterborough, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Dobre, a jury at Peterborough Crown Court heard on Friday.

Hutchinson denies murder and conspiracy to rob.

Stuart Trimmer KC, prosecuting, told the jury the Crown alleges the killing was part of a robbery that happened in Crabtree, Paston.

He told the court: “In the early hours of Wednesday, April 13, last year, he (Mihai Dobre) was shot in the head at close range while sitting in a car.

“He was shot with a shotgun, and he died from his injuries reasonably quickly.

“This defendant (Hutchinson) fired the shot, he carried the gun, his finger was on the trigger.”

Mr Trimmer said it was alleged that Hutchinson had gone to Crabtree with Christopher Pycroft, 40, with the intention of robbing Mr Dobre - who was acting as a drug runner.

He said a phone connected to Pycroft had contacted a known County Lines drug line to order drugs, which Mr Dobre, a Romanian national who has lived in the UK ‘for a number of years,’ delivered.

The jury was told that Pycroft, of Crabtree, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob.

The jury was shown CCTV footage, taken from a nearby house, of the incident at 12.30am, which showed Mr Dobre pulling up by the side of the road, and two men - who Mr Trimmer said were Pycroft and Hutchinson - approaching the vehicle.

Shortly afterwards, the car can be seen to start to move forward - which Mr Trimmer said happened after Mr Dobre had been shot, as his foot was still on the accelerator pedal.

The court heard how Ms Seling said she had seen one of the men - who Mr Trimmer said was Hutchinson - carrying an item which she said looked like a crowbar.

Mr Trimmer said she told police the item had been used to break a car window, before she saw Mr Dobre’s head fall forwards.

Mr Trimmer said: “Ms Seling called for help, and residents came out. Police and ambulance were called, but despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be saved.”

Following the shooting, residents living nearby reported seeing two men running away, with Mr Trimmer telling the jury one person reported they heard one of the men say ‘why did you shoot him?’ or ‘why are you shooting’ - Mr Trimmer said the words heard were not clear.

The court heard how scenes of crime officers attended the scene, and while pellets from the gun were found, the cartridge and the gun itself - described as a 12 bore shotgun - were not.

Hutchinson was arrested on April 14, at his grandmother's home in Skegness.

Mr Trimmer said: “He was visibly distressed. One officer said he appeared to be intoxicated, and he gave the comment ‘I’m not a bad person’.

In a police interview, Hutchinson did not answer questions, but gave a short, written statement, which said: “I did not commit murder and did not possess a shotgun.’

Addressing Hutchinson’s guilty plea to manslaughter, Mr Trimming said: “The Crown say that the intention at the very least was to cause very serious harm.”

Hutchinson has pleaded not guilty to murder and conspiracy to rob.

The trial continues.