Two drivers who admit manslaughter after a man died in a water filled drain will be sentenced on November 27.
Sean Burlton (28) drowned after the car he was a passenger in left the road and entered a ditch on Counter Drain Drove, in Tongue End, on November 24, 2023.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Burlton was in a Ford Focus that had tried to ram a VW Touran being driven by his new girlfriend’s ex-partner, Richard McMullon.
Jurors have been played a 999 call made by Mr McMullon as he was followed down Counter Drove Drain by the Focus and a Vauxhall Insignia.
Prosecutors allege the Focus went into the water-filled drain after attempting to cut up Mr McMullon’s car on a left-hand bend further up Counter Drove Drain.
Bailey Fitzgerald (29), of Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck, who was driving the Ford Focus, and Sam Johnson (26), of Johnson Avenue, Spalding, who was driving the Vauxhall Insignia, have both pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to Burlton’s death.
Both men also admit a second charge of conspiring with Burlton to commit actual bodily harm to Mr McMullon between November 22 and 25 2023.
Four other men have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and will be sentenced alongside Fitzgerald and Johnson on November 27.
They are Max Prior (21), of London Road, Spalding, who was a passenger in the Ford Focus, and Sam Clift (35), of Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck, Josh Copnell (22), of Rose Lane, Pinchbeck, and Scott Biggs (33), of Spalding Common, Spalding, who were passengers in the Vauxhall Insignia.
A pre-sentence hearing at Lincoln Crown Court was told Fitzgerald and Johnson had each submitted a basis of plea detailing their roles in the conspiracy and unlawful killing of Burlton.
If the basis of those pleas are not acceptable to the prosecution then a further hearing will have to take place before a judge with evidence called.
Judge Simon Hirst adjourned the case for a further hearing on October 16 and fixed a sentence date of November 27 at Lincoln Crown Court.
Burlton’s new girlfriend, Vanessa Gratton, was cleared of any involvement in the conspiracy after a three week trial earlier this month.
Jurors heard there was an ongoing battle between Gratton (32), of West Parade, Spalding, and her ex-partner, Mr McMullon, over custody visits.
Prosecutors alleged Mr McMullon was followed by the Focus and Insignia after he left a contact visit centre in Spalding at around 3pm on November 24, 2023.
