A drug dealer who chased three men, who sold him popcorn instead of cannabis, in a high-speed car pursuit where they crashed and died has been jailed.
Robbie Cook was in his Range Rover Sport when he followed the men in their Citroen Berlingo through residential streets in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on February 13 2023 before they crashed into a tree at a park entrance at more than 50mph and were declared dead at the scene.
The court heard Cook, of Eastbourne, was angry once he realised he was duped in the drug deal worth £3,500 and was “determined” to recover his cash.
Cook, 39, admitted causing death by dangerous driving of Daniel Davies, 21, Jonny Day, 32, and Jon ‘Tommy’ Miller, 36, who were all from Berkshire, and perverting the course of justice by later destroying his phone.
You returned to the Berlingo using a torch to search in and around the vehicle as those men lay dying in it. That speaks volume about your character
The public gallery at Lewes Crown Court was packed with their family members when Cook was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Friday.
Sentencing him, Judge Christine Laing KC said: “I am quite satisfied this was a pursuit carried out by you in determination of getting your drugs money back, together with aggravating features and the fact this tragedy caused the deaths of three men.
“You returned to the Berlingo using a torch to search in and around the vehicle as those men lay dying in it. That speaks volume about your character.
“In the immediate aftermath all you were thinking about was your position and getting your money back.”
The father-of-one was seen on CCTV getting out of the 4×4 and using torchlight to search the car before leaving the scene in around two minutes without calling an ambulance for the men he told police he heard moaning in the car, the court heard.
Emergency services were called around 30 minutes after the crash by one of Cook’s associates, and Mr Day was likely to have died only just before paramedics arrived an hour after the incident.
