Inside biker gang rivalry that led to grandfather being run down and killed
Territorial claims divide two ‘1%’ clubs in the South West
Paramedics were unable to save David Crawford when they found him by the side of a slip road in May last year.
The 59-year-old had been left on the Tarmac with injuries from what may seem an unlikely incident for a Plymouth grandfather to be involved in - an attack by a rival gang.
Three men – Benjamin Parry, 42, Chad Brading, 36, and Thomas Pawley, 32 – were jailed on Friday for Mr Crawford’s killing.
They were members of the Plymouth branch of the Bandidos motorcycle club and had pursued Mr Crawford, who rode with the Cornwall-based Red Chiefs, after he wore his club’s “colours” in Devon, the neighbouring county claimed by the rival bikers.
Prosecutors in the assailants’ manslaughter trial said it was considered “insulting” for a member of one club to wear their representative badges and emblems while riding through rival territory.
Despite their differences, the two clubs share a claim to be part of the “1 per cent”, meaning they are part of the small number of motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide who consider themselves outlaws.
The jacket Crawford was found at the roadside wearing had a “1%” badge stitched on the back, to the left of the Red Chiefs emblem – a skull wearing a traditional Native American headdress.
Rivalries between motorcycle gangs are fierce and members can be ruthless in staking their claims to territory.
Mr Crawford was rammed from his bike on 12 May and dragged on the underside of a van for nearly a kilometre before being left on the side of the road.
On the day of his death, the 59-year-old had been riding with fellow Red Chiefs when Bandidos members spotted him wearing his “colours” in their area. Prosecutors said what followed was a “coordinated attack” on the grandfather.
Dashcam footage played in a trial at Plymouth Crown Court showed Brading and Pawley pull up beside Mr Crawford in a black Mercedes as he rode on an A38 slip road.
Parry came from behind in a Transit and rammed Mr Crawford’s Kawasaki bike, knocking him onto the bonnet and then under the van.
The van joined the A38 and carried on until the next junction with the rival biker being dragged underneath. He came loose as the van exited the express road.
Prosecutors said the Bandidos did not have the “decency to stop or call an ambulance”.
Police and paramedics found Mr Crawford with a “horrific” number of injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police found a registration plate belonging to the Transit van, which Parry drove for work.
The three Bandidos were cleared of murder but were convicted of manslaughter for their part in Mr Crawford’s death. Brading told police “nobody set out to kill anybody”.
Parry was given 12 years in prison, while the other two men were given four years. Parry was given longer for his “significant, if not leading, role” and was also banned from driving for 10 years.
Sentencing the trio at Exeter Crown Court today, Mr Justice Garnham said the bikers had subjected their rival to “very significant mental and physical torture”.
One of the jailed men, Barry, offered an insight into what might drive men to sign up to the “outlaw” life.
In comments reported by Plymouth Herald, the 36-year-old said he was a former soldier in the parachute regiment and had joined the motorcycle club as it was the “closest thing you get from the military”, adding that it was run by rules and that “you live by laws and respect”.
He added that you “don’t cheat, lie or steal from your brothers”.
But Brady, who said he was club president, went on to say the killing of Mr Crawford had made him hate his “brother” Parry for taking him away from his daughters.