FIVE men who stand accused of the murder of Ryan O’Connor were “out looking for trouble” while “armed to the teeth”, Newport Crown Court has heard.

Elliott Fiteni – one of the five defendants – was cross-examined this morning by prosecutor Michael Brady QC.

Mr Brady asked why Fiteni picked up his co-defendant Joseph Jeremy – who he barely knew.

"I don't know. It's the biggest mistake of my life," said Fiteni, adding that Jeremy was a friend of Lewis Aquilina's cousin – Kyle Raisis - which is why he picked him up. He said he didn't know Ethan Strickland would be with Jeremy.

"There were four balaclavas and three knives [in the car]. You don't need that to buy weed or sell a car," said Mr Brady. 

"I know. I didn't know about the knives and only knew about two of the balaclavas," Fiteni said.

"The truth is you were out looking for trouble weren't you," Mr Brady put to the defendant.

Fiteni denied this.

"What am I going to earn from going out with five people and robbing people," he said. "We'd get maybe £50 each. When I go out with Lewis I make £400 for a car."

"Maybe it's not about the money. Maybe it's for the fun of it," Mr Brady said.

"Stabbing people is not fun," Fiteni replied.

Mr Brady accused the men of talking in the car about robbing Mr O’Connor.

"There was no discussion about robbing him," said Fiteni.

Fiteni said it was "a shock" Aquilina jumped out of the car. He said he had to put the handbrake on and then he got into the driver's seat.

He was asked if Aquilina had a knife with him as he jumped out the car.

"If he did jump out with a knife that had come from the back," said Fiteni. "I didn't have a knife and he didn't have a knife all day."

The court heard how Fiteni drove away before swapping with Aquilina, and then Strickland later took over driving.

They stopped at an Esso garage where Jeremy got out to pay for fuel.

Mr Brady asked why Fiteni didn't ask Strickland to drive off and leave Jeremy at the garage.

"I didn't know Ethan Strickland. I didn't want to ask a stranger to leave his friend. What if I said it to him and he didn't and then he told Jeremy I said it?," said Fiteni.

"I didn't want to get in to a confrontation with a man who just stabbed someone in the street."

The court was shown police bodycam footage of Strickland and Fiteni when they were arrested. Fiteni is shown shouting “Don’t say anything bro” to Strickland. A policeman is heard replying “bad time to get a lift”.

Fiteni said this was because he heard Strickland say he had only been picked up 10 minutes ago.

The jury was shown a second officer's bodycam footage, from 20 minutes after the previous footage where Fiteni shouted at Strickland. In the footage, Strickland says he had only just been picked up.

"Yes, that wasn't the first time he said it," said Fiteni. "I'm 100 per cent sure I heard him say he only got picked up 10 minutes ago. That's why the police said 'bad time to get a lift'."

"You didn't care about Strickland at all did you? It wasn't advice for him, it was an order, wasn't it?" Mr Brady put to Fiteni, who denied this.

Mr Brady asked why Fiteni "let these people in the car armed to the teeth and with balaclavas."

"I have no problem with them wearing balaclavas in my car," said Fiteni. "I did not know they had knives."

Following the cross-examination, Paul Lewis QC, representing Fiteni, asks the defendant about Joseph Jeremy's representative, Jonathan Elystan Rees', questions about Fiteni protecting Lewis Aquilina.

"Did you tell the police Lewis was driving the stolen car?" Mr Lewis asked.

"Did you tell the police Lewis was driving the car at the roundabout?

"Did you tell the police Lewis was the first person to jump out of the car?"

Fiteni answered yes to all three questions.