Brierley Hill murders: Alleged shooter feared victims would hurt him over money he owed
A man accused of shooting dead two best friends in a Range Rover has told a jury he feared they would hurt him over tens of thousands of pounds he owed them.
Jonathan Houseman said he knew Brian McIntosh and Will Henry had "used violence" in the past and that Mr McIntosh kept a knife in the Range Rover he owned.
He denies shooting both men in the vehicle at the Albion Works industrial estate in Brierley Hill last September over a £200,000 debt he owed them.
Taking the stand at Birmingham Crown Court, Houseman, 32, accepted there had been friction between him and the two friends over money in the months leading up to the shootings.
Houseman had fallen behind on weekly payments for work they were doing to clear a site in Halesowen and had also borrowed £20,000 from Mr Henry in 2019 which had not been repaid when the three had a heated discussion in June last year.
The defendant said Mr McIntosh and Mr Henry were "intimidating" him and they were "not the sort of people" you wanted to owe money.
Houseman also denied claims previously made to the jury that he had asked a business associate if he could "get a shooter" two years before the incident and said he did not ask co-accused Richard Avery to get him a gun in order to kill the pair.
He denied messages exchanged with Avery about a car were actually "coded reference" to a gun or ammunition.
The alleged shooter claimed he did not owe the victims any money when they died, and that he had in fact handed them £137,000 in cash for a skip investment.
He was asked about a recording of a conversation found on Mr Henry's phone where Mr McIntosh was heard saying "you know what's going to happen, don't you?"
Houseman, of no fixed address but formerly of Quarry Park Road, Stourbridge, said he understood that to mean they would use violence against him if he did not pay up.
He added: "Often I've seen Will with a steering lock and wheel nuts. I've seen Brian with a knife he carries in his car regularly."
He said he knew a man who worked with them had "received injuries", while Mr McIntosh had told him Mr Henry had previously "slapped" someone.
Pressed whether he asked Avery, who is accused of helping to plan the murders, for a gun, Houseman replied: "No I didn't."
Houseman denies murder. Avery, 33, of no fixed address, denies murder and perverting the course of justice. Avery's partner Francesca Scott, 33, of Lower Valley Road, Brierley Hill, denies perverting the course of justice.
The trial continues.
