Drug addict was killed in revenge for robbing gunman’s ‘worker’

A drug dealer who shot dead an addict because he robbed one of his henchmen is facing a life sentence.

Anthony Small, 31, of High Street, Harlesden, executed crack user Anthony Dickson after luring him to a park in Hayes in revenge for the theft.

The Old Bailey heard the 37-year-old was shot twice in the chest with a sub-machine gun on December 23 last year.

Two weeks before his death, Mr Dickson was said to have mugged one of Small’s drug pushers, stealing crack and cash.

Jurors heard that Small, who goes by the street name ‘Chocs’, ran a drug dealing operation selling heroin and crack in Hayes.

A mobile phone used by his gang to arrange transactions had been called 5,286 times in just three weeks last December.

Following the robbery, his girlfriend received a phonecall demanding to know his whereabouts, and telling her: “It’s Anthony we want.”

On December 23, desperate for a hit, Mr Dickson called Small and asked to meet up to buy crack.

His girlfriend drove him to the meeting point and dropped him off where mall gunned him down and later threw away his phone and burned his clothes in an attempt to cover his tracks.

Following his arrest, in a defence statement, he admitted he ‘may have been in the same borough when the shooting occurred.’

Giving evidence, the dealer insisted he was ‘just a runner’ earning cash to fund his own crack and heroin habit, and had no reason to carry out the gangland killing.

Simon Denison QC, prosecuting, said: “People who rob drug dealers have to be taught a lesson, don’t they?”

To which Small said: “Not by me they don’t.”

Small denied murder.

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.