A WOMAN who negotiated a drug deal at Salt Ash that ended with an ice supplier being shot dead in what prosecutors have labelled a "drug rip gone wrong" has said she deliberately kept the identity of the dealer a secret when organising the meeting.
David King, a 45-year-old mid-level methamphetamine dealer, was killed when he was shot once at close range in the back of the head with a shortened shotgun while allegedly trying to escape being robbed in Hideaway Drive on August 29, 2021.
It is the prosecution case that Mr King was shot by either Mr Cage or Mr Lowcock, who were in the car with him at the time he was gunned down, while Mr Stamp was waiting nearby in a hired Hyundai Santa Fe.
The trio are accused of conspiring to rob Mr King and allegedly used the woman as an intermediary because she had a close friendship with Mr King and could "open the door" and get him to "let his guard down", Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw has said.
But Mr Shaw said the trio did not go to Salt Ash with the intention of shooting Mr King, instead intending to rob him while armed with the shortened shotgun.
The woman who acted as an intermediary continued giving evidence on Wednesday, telling the jury she had deliberately kept Mr King's identity from Mr Cage when facilitating the deal so she could maintain some control over the transaction and earn a commission.
"Sometimes you don't want people to know who the connections are so you're always the middle person," the woman said.
The woman also acknowledged she had a "well-developed pattern" with Mr King where she would bring him customers and then she would "skim" some methamphetamine off the top without the buyer knowing.
She said she organised that Mr King would supply half an ounce of methamphetamine to Mr Cage, but over the course of the day Mr Cage had become concerned he was going to be "ripped off" and needed reassuring.
After acting as a go-between for the two men, the woman said she raced to Salt Ash to find Mr Cage sitting in the back of Mr King's vehicle sometime after 1pm on August 29.
The pair negotiated a price and Mr Cage said he wanted to try the drug before Mr King suggested they drive around to the more secluded Hideaway Drive to complete the deal.
The woman claimed all three men and Mr King were in Mr King's car when the trio suddenly got out with the package of drugs and walked back to their car.
The woman said she asked Mr Cage "where's the money?" and he replied "I'm just going to the car to get it, you dickhead".
She said she thought Mr Cage was retrieving cash from the Santa Fe, but then he tasered her.
"After that he was like, "I'll just rob him for everything then" and he's just charged past me and he's jumped straight into the passenger seat and started demanding the drugs off David King," the woman said.
The woman claimed Mr King was complying but she started making a "massive scene" in a bid to stop Mr Cage from robbing Mr King, before Mr Cage kicked her in the stomach and shut the car door.
The woman said she could see Mr King had been shot and claims Mr Cage then dragged her towards the Santa Fe and she was driven from the scene.
The woman will continue giving evidence on Thursday.
