A man accused of murdering a teenager has told a court he heard “screams” but did not see the murder take place.
In March 2023, Jamie Meah, 18, was dragged out of a taxi by a group of men and stabbed to death, while a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured in Armley, Leeds.
Ranei Wilks, 23, is on trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with murder and attempted murder.
Giving evidence, he said he and three other men were in a car “in the cold” but when they saw someone with a knife the others jumped out.
Jamie Meah and a 16-year-old boy were ‘viciously’ attacked, court heard [BBC]
Mr Wilkes said he was in the car with others because they were all selling drugs.
He told the jury he stayed in the Mercedes in Brooklyn Terrace because he thought he might be seriously harmed, but he couldn’t see what was happening and “just wanted to get away”.
He said he didn’t know there was a knife in the car beforehand, but when the men returned to the car “30 or 40 seconds” later, he saw what he described as a zombie knife.
When he later heard that one of the boys had died, he said, “My heart was broken.”
“Do not participate”
Mr Wilkes has also been charged with two counts of possession of a bladed article, one of which relates to a separate incident.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Imran Shafi said: “You were the man who banged on the window with the knife and stabbed Jaime Mia in the taxi.”
Mr Wilkes replied: “I’m not.”
He said: “I was not involved in the assault or stabbing of these males. I do not know these males.”
Mr Shafi said the taxi driver who witnessed the murder and was armed with a knife was Ranei Wilks.
Mr Wilkes responded: “He must have been confused. His description was very different.”
Prosecutors say three other suspects involved — Caleb Awe, Aquade Jeffers and Enham Nishat — were involved in the killing. He fled the UK after the incident and is still at large.
Wilkes admitted he traveled to Ireland, Paris and then Turkey after the murder but arranged to return to the UK because he wanted to clear his name.
Lane Wilkes is on trial at Leeds Crown Court [PA Media]
After the murder, he traveled to Ireland with three other suspects because, he said: “I didn’t know what to do. My mind was in a mess.”
He told the jury he later traveled to Paris and Turkey alone but knew he was wanted, saying: “I knew they were putting my face in the news.”
Wilkes, who has no fixed abode, said he contacted a lawyer who spoke to police and he arranged to return to the UK because he wanted to clear his name.
In April 2024, he flew back to the UK from Türkiye and was arrested on arrival at Leeds Bradford Airport.
His lawyer Louise Blackwell told the court Mr Wilkes was in the car when the attack occurred but he denied “participation or abetting”.
The trial continues.
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