Jury retires in trial of two men charged with brutal murder of Daneiko Ferguson in Harehills

Mr Ferguson, 27, bled to death after being stabbed multiple times and left at the side of the road on Compton Street, Harehills, in the early hours of February 15. Alga Lutondo and Halgon Randon are standing trial at Leeds Crown Court accused of murdering Mr Ferguson.

The Crown said the pair had been riding bicycles and had gone looking for Mr Ferguson that night. It came after Maria Thomas – a dealer selling on behalf of Lutondo – phoned him to say that an hour before Mr Ferguson had “kicked down her door” on Cowper Terrace, Harehills, demanding she hand over the drugs.

The Crown said that Lutondo then “recruited” Randon to hunt down Mr Ferguson to exact revenge. When they found him shortly before 3am, it was alleged they both stabbed him five times.

They both fled the scene and Lutondo later tried to leave the country, but was stopped from boarding a flight at Heathrow.

Lutondo, age 32, formerly of Berkeley Crescent, Harehills and 42-year-old Randon, of Brown Hill Terrace, Harehills, were later charged with murder. During the trial it was heard that both defendants sought to blame each other for being responsible for fatally stabbing Mr Ferguson.

They both also deny a charge with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH), along with the third defendant, 34-year-old Maria Thomas, now of Horsforth. She appeared in the dock alongside her co-accused.