Teenager found guilty of murdering man shot dead at petrol station

A teenager who shot a man dead at a petrol station in Essex then went on the run to Amsterdam has been found guilty of murder.

Bradley Blundell, 19, shot 34-year-old John Pordage in the chest over flirtatious comments either he or his friend allegedly made to Blundell’s 18-year-old friend Ella Colgate at a BP garage in Chelmsford, Essex Police said.

Mr Pordage died of his injuries on August 5 last year.

Blundell was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of murder and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, police said.

It followed a three-week trial that concluded on Wednesday.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Martin Pasmore, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said after the hearing: “Blundell is a dangerous young man who used extreme violence in reaction to what was a trivial matter and left a man dying in the street.

“He was careful and calculated in how he planned his attempt to escape from justice.

“He sought the help of his associates to smuggle himself out of the country and went to great lengths to leave no trace of his movements.

“Blundell tried to convince the jury he did not shoot John Pordage and fled because he was petrified of being arrested for a crime he did not commit.

“But they have seen through his concoction of lies.”

Colgate, of Aldridge Close, Chelmsford, was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, police said.

The force said Colgate and Blundell had conversations and tried to influence another witness about what to say.

Blundell, of Cromwell Close, Boreham, had handed himself in at an Amsterdam police station on March 31 this year and was detained under a European Arrest Warrant.

It followed an extensive manhunt.