A DEESIDE man charged with murder told police he was not involved in any way.

In a prepared statement Leslie Peter Baines, 48, said “I deny any involvement."

He replied "no comment" to questions including those about his contact with co-defendant David Jones Woods and the teenager who died, Matthew Cassidy.

The prosecution allege Mr Cassidy, 19, from Huyton in Liverpool, was a drug dealer operating on Deeside who was stabbed in a dispute over the sale of hard drugs.

Baines, of Kings Road in Connah’s Quay, denies a murder charge at Mold Crown Court.

Woods, said to be the leader of a Liverpool drugs supply gang, changed his plea to guilty on Monday.

He had been covertly recorded at HM Altcourse prison in Liverpool making admissions to the murder.

The jury has been told that on the evening of May 29 last year Mr Cassidy was stabbed to death in the stairwell of a block of flats at Bethel Place on Connah’s Quay High Street.

Two men were seen leaving the block of flats, just moments before the stricken Mr Cassidy was found.

The prosecution allege they were Woods and Baines.

Junior prosecuting counsel Elen Owen said when asked about his movements on the day of the stabbing, Baines continued to answer "no comment" except to say “I were with my mum all day really” at Kings Road.

Asked to be specific about times he answered "no comment", then stated he could not remember where he was because he had been drinking.

He denied he was one of the people leaving the flats immediately after the murder.

Baines confirmed he was the person on CCTV seen near his mother’s house at 7.01pm and said he was going to the shop.

He confirmed footage taken at 7.15pm showed him and said he had been to a shop to buy beer.

It was pointed out that the shop was very close to the flats.

Footage at 8.06pm showed him returning to his mother’s and talking to a neighbour.

When asked if he had seen Woods at a house in Connah’s Quay, he answered “no comment”.

He said he was walking around because he was trying to score drugs, he got soaking wet and went back to his mum’s to change.

In a later interview he said he used his mother’s address he did not have a permanent home and was “sofa surfing”.

His “drug of choice” was alcohol, he did not depend on drugs and would just use them when he wanted them.

Baines denied being at Bethel Place at the time of the murder or having anything to do with it.

Miss Owen said in a later interview Baines said he did know Woods as he had been purchasing drugs from him for about two years.

He had seen him socially over a period when he had been at mutual friends’ houses drinking.

Asked about Woods’ DNA in blood on his trainer, he said he had been to a house where Woods was bleeding profusely on the kitchen floor.

That was where the blood came from, when he visited her house to score drugs, he said.

In a later interview he was asked why he had not mentioned going to the address in earlier interviews?

He replied “I’m not a snitch” and said the police already knew Woods had been there.

In the kitchen he said Woods had said he had “stabbed somebody up” and that apparently had been saying that he would stab him for the last three days.

He got his drugs and he left.

Baines said he was only there for about 10 minutes and was only there at all because he could not score earlier when he had been walking round Connah’s Quay.

He then heard that he could score at Lisa’s and it was “Ted” – the defendant Woods – that he had scored from.

Asked about footwear evidence, the prosecution allege it provides moderately strong support for his trainers being at the flats, but Baines said he had been to the flats on many occasions in the past.

Proceeding.