'I was surprised to hear someone got shot' - Man accused of murdering Neo Graham on Wolverhampton street tells jury
A man accused of taking part in an alleged drive by killing in a Wolverhampton street told the jury he was surprised to learn that someone had died.
Fabio Bandarrinha, aged 21, of Wolverhampton, is among three defendants on trial for killing Neo Graham who talking to another man in Eastfield Road off Old Heath Road in Eastfields, on March 4, 2025 when he was shot dead.
Giving defence evidence on the witness stand he told the jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court that he was elsewhere in the town chasing a drug sale as he was a dealer. He said he was driving a Vauxhall Corsa when Mr Graham was shot at about 3.19pm. Bandarrinha said shortly after that time he took a call from co-accused Koketso Ximba who wanted a lift and he picked him up along with the suspected gunman Israel May in Field Street.
Bandarrinha, of Powell Street, Park Village, said:"When I arrived in Field Street they were not there and I phoned to find out where they had got to. They then came out of the alley into Field Street.
"Straightaway Ximba started shouting at Israel Mey when they got in the car. They told me someone had been shot. Ximba was p***** off with him.
"I was surprised I can't lie, when I heard that someone had been shot."
Bandarrinha said Ximba was not carrying his bag. He said Ximba had previously left some of his personal effects behind at his house including his passport and clothing and he asked him to bring them to him.
He said Israel Mey made a phone call to another defendant in the case Deric Da Silva Ferreria to "grab" some of "his stuff" and they drove to an address, in Kipling Road, in Bushbury, to collect the items.
The jury previous heard that the group travelled to Birmingham, then from there to Scotland in a hired Nissan Juke. Bandarrinho and another man, who drove the car, returned to the Midlands.
However, Israel Mey and Ximba did a "flit" and caught a ferry to Belfast where they checked into a hotel before parting company. Israel Mey caught a flight to Amsterdam while Ximba was arrested in Liverpool as he attempted to return. Israel Mey who was suspected of firing the 9mm Glock pistol is still at large.
Bandarrinha, aged 21, of Powell Street, Park Village; Koketso Ximba, aged 23, of Montano Drive; and Deric Da Silva Ferreria, aged 20, of Fifth Avenue, both Low Hill; all Wolverhampton, deny murder. Two other defendants Aaron Osei, aged 23, of South Road, Birmingham; and Elie Mey, aged 25, of Inkerman Street, also Wolverhampton, deny assisting an offender.
All deny possessing a firearm; possessing of ammunition without a firearms certificate and possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply and possession of criminal property relating to cash.
The trial continues.