First picture of killer who arranged Joanne Penney's murder

A convicted killer has been found guilty of arranging the murder of a woman shot and killed at point-blank range on a doorstep. Joanne Penney was found dead in a block of flats in Talbot Green after being shot in the chest on March 9 last year. In the second trial relating to her murder Cardiff Crown Court heard how Renaldo Baptiste used a hidden "prison phone" to supply the gun that killed Ms Penney. Baptiste is one of four further people convicted for their part in the death of Ms Penney who was caught up in a turf war between two drug gangs. At the end of the second trial the jury also found Cardiff women Donna James and Laura John guilty of assisting an offender. Molly Cooper, from Leicester, has also been convicted of acquiring ammunition for a firearm. Five people had already been convicted in a previous trial of murdering Ms Penney. They are Marcus Huntley - who fired the fatal shot - Joshua Gordon, Jordan Mills-Smith, Melissa Quailey-Dashper, and Kristina Ginova. Ms Penney was discovered by police in the lounge of the flat at Llys Illtyd in Talbot Green at around 6.10pm. A post-mortem examination gave a provisional cause of death as a gunshot wound to the left chest involving the heart and left lung. Defendants found guilty at both trials will be sentenced at a later date. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter . Baptiste, 39, was found guilty of murder on Thursday afternoon after he was found to have played a "key role" in the search for the firearm and ammunition which was used in the shooting, in organising the shooting, and in the events which followed it. Prosecutor Jonathan Rees KC said there were text messages between Baptiste and Huntley and Gordon in which the men discussed obtaining a firearm and ammunition to "send a message to their rivals". Mr Rees said in one exchange Baptiste laughed at a suggestion by Huntley they would have to "stick to leg shots only". The barrister told the court that following the killing of Ms Penney a gun and 16 rounds of ammunition matching those used in the shooting were found buried in woods in Heritage Park in the St Mellons area of Cardiff . The court heard DNA recovered from the ammunition was a billion times more likely to belong to Molly Cooper than not and this indicated she had "direct contact" with the bullets at some point. Cooper was found guilty of possessing, purchasing or acquiring ammunition without holding a firearms certificate. Laura John, 22, and Donna James, 51, respectively the partner and mother of Mills-Smith – purchased a coach ticket from Cardiff to allow him to flee south Wales after the murder. The court heard the background to Ms Penney’s murder was a "clash of organised crime gangs" – one run by Joshua "Rico" Gordon and the other headed by Daniel "Jimmy" Joseph. The prosecutor said the Rico gang was already involved in "serious drug trafficking" in the Leicester area but was branching out its operations into south Wales and in particular into Talbot Green – a move which he said had "not been taken well" by the Jimmy Joseph gang which was already operating in the area. The barrister said that in the lead up to the murder of Ms Penney members of the Jimmy Joseph gang had twice "confronted and humiliated members of the Rico group" when they were in the Talbot Green area, and following these incidents the plan was hatched to acquire and use a gun. Describing the lead up to Ms Penney's death, Mr Rees said: "On March 9, 2025, Gordon travelled from Leicester to Cardiff in a convoy of two vehicles - one driven by Ginova, the other driven by Tony Porter with Quailey-Dashper in the front passenger seat. "Following a meeting between Gordon, Huntley, Mills-Smith, Ginova and Quailey-Dashper in the address of Mills-Smith’s grandmother, Bryn Celyn in Llanederyn, Gordon accompanied Huntley, Mills-Smith and Quailey-Dashper to Talbot Green in a car driven by Porter. “Ginova, meanwhile, took Gordon’s phone to McDonald’s Cardiff Gate, where she bought a meal for two persons, and ensured that Gordon’s phone continued to activate cell sites in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff. “In fact Gordon was waiting in the car with Porter in Talbot Green, while Huntley, Mills-Smith and Quailey-Dashper walked up to the front door of 10 Llys Illtyd to carry out the ambush.” The court heard Quailey-Dashper knocked on the front door of 10 Llys Illtyd. Mr Rees said: “While Huntley, who was standing next to Mills-Smith, leant forward and immediately shot at the person who opened the door - with a live bullet from a batch of ammunition. "Ms Penney opened the front door of 10 Llys Illtyd, Green Park, in Talbot Green and was instantly shot to the heart with a single bullet fired from a handgun at close range. She barely managed to stagger back to the living room of the address before she fell to the floor and died moments later.” Quailey-Dashper, Huntley and Mills-Smith then returned quickly, albeit calmly, to the car where Porter and Gordon awaited, before Porter drove back to the address in Bryn Celyn and the parties went their separate ways. Baptiste, while in prison, had been updated about what Mr Rees called the “outcome of this well-planned revenge attack”. Baptiste was said to have left an “excited” voice message to Gordon. This said: “Bro man, just spoke to Whitey and told me the situation. Bumbaclart star, a monster man create.” Later that night there was “extensive” phone contact between Baptiste, Gordon, Huntley and Mills-Smith, with a group call between them lasting for an hour and 14 minutes. The trial previously heard Baptiste was previously convicted of murdering Anand Parmar, 47, in 2021. Mr Parmar was a customer of Baptiste's drug business in Leicester and had worked for him as a driver, receiving drugs as payment. The court heard in April 2021 Mr Parmar stopped working for Baptiste and began driving for another dealer. Mr Parmar was "lured" to a car park on April 12, 2021, by Jurrat Khan, believing he was going to receive drugs, but Mr Rees said Baptiste and Jefferey Carew set upon him and locked him in the boot of a car. The court heard Mr Parmar was transported in the boot to a nearby park and was carried to parkland where he was "further assaulted". Having been knocked unconscious, Mr Parmar was carried out of the park by his wrists and ankles, slung back in the car boot and was driven around "unresponsive and gravely injured". Mr Rees said Baptiste "ignored dangers to (Mr Parmar's) life" and he was discovered in the boot of the abandoned car by the police at 3am. He had suffered a total of 44 injuries to multiple parts of his body including deep marks and bruises. Mr Parmar suffered damage to his brain resembling injuries caused by a road traffic collision and he died three hours later from head and chest injuries. Baptiste was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years for the murder of Mr Parmar. For their respective involvement in the murder of Ms Penney Baptiste, of no fixed abode, Cooper, of The Crossway, Leicester, John, of Gelli Deg, Rhiwbina, Cardiff, and James, of Mostyn Square, Llanishen, Cardiff, are due to be sentenced on June 29. Callum Kelleher and Sai Manne are also due to be sentenced for participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .