A drug dealer gran was stabbed to death out of 'self defence' after she stormed into a property with a machete and demanded a £120 debt. Debbie Twist, 47 who was the head of her family's drug ring was killed after she raided the property with her son, Jordan Winstanley and Robbie Arnold, who worked for them, the Mirror reports.
The trio smashed the back window and entered the property in Wigan on March 17, 2019 wearing masks to collect the drug debt from an innocent father of a customer who had failed to pay. The victim defended himself with a knife after he was threatened with a hammer and a machete, Bolton Crown Court heard.
He was slashing in the direction of the intruders to protect himself when he stabbed Debbie Twist in the left side of her chest. GMP also confirmed that the home owner's pregnant partner was threatened with a firearm during the attack.
The 47-year-old gangster gran later died from her injuries in hospital. The victim who was originally arrested for murder was let go after it was ruled by CPS advice and authority of the Chief Crown Prosecutor that he acted out of 'householder defence'.
Prosecutor John Richards told the court that the victim also suffered multiple injuries to his nose and hands during the attack and has been left traumatised by the terrifying incident which he still suffers flashbacks from three years later. After the trial, Winstanley was found guilty of aggravated burglary and was handed a six year prison sentence.
Robbie Arnold, 23, was cleared of aggravated burglary but the jury found him guilty of being in possession of an imitation firearm on the evening of the incident. The family run drug ring was commandeered by Winstanley and his mum with the help of his sister, Bethany Twist, 22, Adam Guy, 26 and Arnold, 23 Mr Richards informed the court.
Bethany Twist and Adam Guy who are a couple did not play any part in the burglary but were part of the same criminal organisation and had been dealing cannabis in the area that night. The court heard that the victim's son had run up a debt of £170 for cannabis which he had bought from the Twist family.
He had been attacked by Debbie Twist two days before the incident but he had agreed to give her the money he owed on March 18. The gang had been out for drinks at a local pub on March 17 when Twist pointed out the victim's address and recognised him to be the father of the in debt customer.
She asked her son and Arnold to knock the door and get the money back but when the group had no response from knocking, they decided to break into the home instead. Police recovered a claw hammer and a machete which were found on a neighbour's roof following the attack.
The court heard from a witness who was asked to drive for them that Arnold apparently had a paintball gun on him and another male who was wearing a balaclava instructed him to drive them to Manchester Road in Leigh. Officers had raided Arnold's address a month before the incident and found a number of drugs and items associated with the production of Class A drugs and the sale of Class B drugs.
Mr Richards said: “In total, what was found was £4,360 worth of cocaine, £250 of skunk cannabis, and £30 of cannabis resin. Over 200 messages were found on the phones relating to the sale of drugs, one saying 'need flake, bare power'.
Mitigating on behalf of Arnold, Ian Metcalfe informed the court that his client had only landed in this position of selling and producing drugs after he was facing 'eye watering' debts himself. He added that at the time he had no other convictions and was a good person.
Mr Metcalfe argued: "He was living in the shadow of Debbie Twist. She was a lady he had known for many years of his life and knew her as ‘aunt’. The defendant has taken active steps to move away from criminality."
Meanwhile, Alistair Reid defending Winstanley said his client had suffered enough already from this crime after losing his mother in the attack. He told the court that he had a 'traumatic childhood' due to his mother's drug addiction and he received little to no support growing up.
Mr Reid also added that Winstanley's father had recently passed away in hospital. Craig McGregor, mitigating for Bethany Twist, said that she had also lost her mother and had recently become a mother to her second child. He told the court: "Immediate custody would have harmful effects on others."
Defending Guy, Eleanor Gleeson said the father-of-two 'understands the severity of his actions'. She added: "He had a son and needed to get cash and get cash quickly. He regrets the actions he made at the time of this. He wants to continue to be in a position to provide for his young family."
His Honour Judge Tom Gilbart summarised it to be a 'very sad case' as he proceeded to sentence Winstanley to six years and six months in prison and handed Arnold who pleaded guilty to the production of cocaine, the supply of cocaine and the supply of cannabis to five years behind bars.
Bethany Twist, of Devon Street in Leigh, and Adam Guy, of Turner Street in Leigh, both pleaded guilty to the supply of Class B drug cannabis. Guy was handed a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and was ordered to undertake 15 rehabilitation requirement activity days, a six month drug rehabilitation course and carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Twist received a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and must undertake 20 rehabilitation requirement activity days and 70 hours of unpaid work.
After the trial, Detective Chief Inspector Wes Knights of the Major Incident Team said: "This has been a very lengthy and complex investigation owing to the circumstances, whereby, unusually someone has tragically lost their life during the commission of a crime which cannot be forgotten. We are grateful to the victim and his family for all the support they have given us during our investigation, in what can only be described as an extremely distressing time for them."
The family paid tribute to the death of the 47-year-old in a statement released by GMP which said: "Debbie wasn’t just a mum. She was our best friend and a friend to many.
"She was the best nanna to Elise, Myla and Maisie and mother-in-law to Adam. She was the much-loved sister of Brian, Anne-Marie, Kelly and Sean.
"She was taken from us too soon and under tragic circumstances. She will be missed by everyone. We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, cards, condolences and flowers."
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