Homeless crack cocaine smoker claims Northampton man Tommy Boom planned to rob rival dealers before fatal stabbing

A homeless woman and drug user told Northampton Crown Court that Tommy Boom planned to set up and rob two rival drug dealers on the night he was fatally stabbed.

The woman was with Mr Boom, 31, when the incident happened in Millers Meadow, also known as Semilong Park, shortly after midnight on Thursday, July 18.

The court was played her police video interview in which she says Mr Boom wanted to rob rival drug dealers that night.

She said she had met Tommy at the park to buy crack and heroin. Tommy was accompanied by Dequalm Gale, who is reportedly around 21 years old and known as ‘Amazon,’ who the homeless woman said Mr Boom was working for to sell drugs.

After chatting with Tommy and ‘Amazon’ for about 20 minutes, she began smoking her drugs. Mr Boom then told her he wanted to rob two drug dealers because he had “done it before” and it was “easy.”

The Boom family could be heard tutting in court when this claim was made.

The woman said she called a dealer nicknamed ‘OP’, alleged to be defendant Kieran Okocha-Sleight, who soon arrived with a “black guy” with a “northern accent,” alleged to be fellow defendant Daniel Larman.

According to the witness, Mr Boom and ‘Amazon’ went into the bushes to hide while she sat on a bench. Okocha-Sleight and Larman entered the park from Spencer Bridge Road.

She spent about a minute talking to them before Mr Boom emerged from the bushes unarmed. ‘Amazon’ stayed hidden.

“Tommy came up from behind saying, 'yo, what you doing,'” she said. “Then the guy (Larman) took a knife out of his trousers. Tommy said, ‘put down the knife, what you going to be doing with that.’ The guy lunged towards Tommy twice. It all happened so quick.”

The woman said Mr Boom tried to run towards St Andrews Road, telling her to call an ambulance, but he collapsed and was breathing heavily on the ground. ‘Amazon’ then chased the defendants up Spencer Bridge Road, the court heard.

The defendants fled to their flat at Paget House, King’s Heath, according to prosecutors.

The trial of Daniel Larman and Kieran Okocha-Sleight, both 21, began today (Tuesday, January 7), after the jury was sworn in on Monday. Both men deny the charge of murder.

The trial continues.