TWO drug dealers have been jailed for more than 36 years for the brutal revenge killing of a former soldier in a Rodbourne street.

Roger Millar, 44, a former soldier with the Royal Engineers, was found with knife wounds in Barnum Court last June.

Yesterday confessed knifeman Shelton Sibanda, 20, was jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 22 years behind bars by Mr Justice Haddon Cave at the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London.

Meanwhile, his associate Christopher Simmonds, 28, of Mundania Road, East Dulwich, south London, was jailed for 14 years and eight months after he was found guilty of manslaughter following a six-week trial at Bristol Crown Court. He had previously admitted perverting the course of justice.

Sibanda, of no fixed address admitted chasing down and stabbing Mr Millar in the back with a hunting knife in revenge for being ambushed at a pre-arranged drug deal by Roger’s group earlier on in the evening of June 5.

Passing sentence on the pair, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told the court Sibanda was a small-time drug dealer, running a class A drug dealing operation out of a flat in Rose Street, who was probably trying to muscle in on the drugs scene in Swindon at the time of the fatal attack on Mr Millar.

He added: “Christopher Simmonds, you were a key figure in the drug-running business.”

Prosecutor, Nigel Lickley QC, told the court the attack took place at 1.30am on June 6 last year and involved the territory and pride of the drug dealers.

The barrister said Sibanda felt insulted after being robbed of his bicycle by an acquaintance of Mr Millar during a drug deal outside Rodbourne Community Centre, in Jennings Street, an hour earlier.

Sibanda fled and returned to the Rose Street flat to round up a gang before going out – wearing a hunting knife around his neck in a sheath – with vengeance in mind.

The court heard Sibanda’s gang chased the other group and shouted threats, with Simmonds cycling ahead, acting as a “spotter” to track them down.

Mr Lickley said Mr Millar, of East Street, was selected by the attackers for no other reason than he was the oldest and slowest member of the group.

He suffered five stab wounds to his back and legs, including one wound which punctured a lung, during the assault and he was pronounced dead at 2.20am.

After the attack, Simmonds asked a girl to lie to police about his whereabouts, prompting the charge of perverting the course of justice.

After the trial, three others alleged to be part of Sibanda’s gang, Zacharious Clayton, 19, of Dean Street, and Kendel Joseph, 19, of Pioneer Road, and 18-year-old Eurico Tavares, of Burbage Road, were all cleared of a single charge of murder.

The judge read a victim impact statement, written by Mr Millar’s sister, Carol Davis “His death will affect so many people,” she wrote. “He should have been alive for many years yet so it is very hard for the family to cope with the fact that he will not be here for birthdays, Christmas or many other family occasions where he would play with the children and chat.”

Lawyers for Sibanda, who has no previous convictions, and Simmonds, who has previous convictions for criminal damage, possessing a knife and assault, said they had both shown genuine remorse for their actions.