Prisoner guilty of planning Talbot Green murder from his cell

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Prisoner guilty of planning Talbot Green murder from his cell15 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleDavid Grundy ,Cardiff Crown CourtandSteve Fairclough , WalesFamily photoJoanne Penney was shot when she opened the door at an address targetted by the organised crime gangA convicted murderer has been found guilty of orchestrating the shooting of a woman in south Wales from his prison cell. Renaldo Baptiste used a hidden "prison phone" to supply the gun that killed Joanne Penney in Talbot Green last March. Baptiste is one of four more people convicted for their part in the murder of Joanne Penney, who was caught up in a turf war between two drug gangs operating in south Wales.

At the end of a second trial following the shooting in Talbot Green, Rhondda Cynon taf, in March 2025, a jury also found Cardiff women Donna James and Laura John guilty of assisting an offender. Molly Cooper, from Leicester, was convicted of acquiring ammunition for a firearm . Five others were convicted of Penney's murder as part of a drugs turf war, at a previous trial earlier this year.

The Details

A total of 11 members of the organised crime gang who have been convicted in connection with Penney's murder will be sentenced at a later date. Penney died after being shot through her heart by Cardiff drug dealer Marcus Huntley, who had travelled to Talbot Green with his friend Jordan Mills-Smith, along with Melissa Quailey-Dashper, to carry out a revenge attack. Quailey-Dashper, from Leicester, was paid in crack cocaine to knock on the door, which was opened by Penney.

Joshua Gordon, a Leicester drug dealer, was in a nearby car. Huntley admitted his guilt; Mills-Smith, Quailey-Dashper and Gordon were found guilty by the first trial's jury. Renaldo Baptiste was jailed in 2022 for a minimum of 25 years for murdering a man who used to work for his drugs supply business.

He told the second Talbot Green trial that he became involved with Joshua Gordon to make money by acting as "a middleman stockbroking" for him if Gordon ran out of drugs. He told jurors that he sourced drugs from prison using his "prison phone". He admitted being part of an Organised Crime Gang (OCG) known as Rico, and sourcing drugs for Marcus Huntley and Jordan Mills-Smith, who sold crack and cocaine in south Wales.

What Experts Say

The pair branched out and targetted Talbot Green, but another OCG was already selling drugs in the area. When the Cardiff pair placed a dealer at 10 Llys Illtyd in Talbot Green to sell drugs, the rival dealers took offence. They "confronted and humiliated" members of the Cardiff gang, prompting Huntley's group to discuss obtaining a gun and ammunition to "send a message".

Huntley contacted Baptiste to discuss the sale of a . 38 Smith & Wesson pistol and "10 sweets", slang for bullets. In other messages between them, Huntley told Baptiste: "Leg shots only.

"Baptiste replied with a laughing emoji. Baptiste claimed that "leg shot" meant a half-gram quantity of cocaine and had nothing to do with guns.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.