Reagan Asbury murder suspect: 'All hell let loose' in crowd during Walsall Town Hall boxing match

Tyrone Andrew, accused of fatally stabbing 19-year-old Reagan Asbury outside Walsall Town Hall after violence erupted at a title fight, was giving evidence from the dock for the first time at his trial.

The 21-year-old said tensions during the bout between Derby-based Myron Mills and local contender Luke Paddock became heightened in rounds six and seven when he claimed it became clear that Mills, a childhood friend of his, was going to win.

There was chanting from both sets of supporters and Andrew claimed he heard ‘monkey chants’ from the Walsall spectators.

Security staff approached the Derby fans and told them to stop chanting, he told Birmingham Crown Court.

Instead they were told they could bang the tables and stamp their feet but this resulted in the unintentional flipping over of their VIP table, he claimed.

Andrew said drinks began to be fired across the room with the first chair being hurled by one of the Derby spectators.

He alleged he did not throw anything and instead moved to the back of the hall where he and his friends became sitting ducks for drinks and other objects being thrown from the balcony.

“I was shocked at how everyone was reacting. There was no respect for boxing and it wasn’t a nice place to be,” he told the court.

He claimed that rival supporters hurled racial abuse at them, including the ‘N-Word’.

He agreed with his barrister, Mr James Wood, QC, that it seemed ‘all hell let loose’ inside the hall.

Andrew left the building with two friends but was captured on video turning back and standing outside waiting for rival fans to emerge, it is alleged.

However he claimed he had wanted to return to Derby and only turned back because he needed to find his friend, co-defendant Declan Kemp-Francis, who had driven them to the town centre bout in his car.

Andrew, who was searched by doorman on the way into the hall, denied having a knife on him.

The jury was told that the defendant had a conviction for wounding with grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife when he was 15 years-old.

Andrew, of St Helen’s Street, Derby, denies murdering Paddock fan Reagan Asbury, from Pelsall, by stabbing him in the neck from behind outside the town hall on October 14 last year.

He is also charged of wounding two others and attempting to stab a fourth man during the incident, which he also denies.

Kemp-Francis, 23, of Dickens Square, Derby, and Lavelle Patrice, 22, of Heavenwood Grove, Derby, are both accused of violent disorder.

Ryandeep Singh, 22, of Lidgate Close, Derby, is charged with assisting Andrew by taking possession of the alleged murder weapon.

Kemp-Francis is also accused of assisting Andrew by driving him away from the scene.

All four deny all the charges.

The trial continues.