Man cleared of Telford shotgun blast charge
A man accused of firing a shotgun at a car damaging, the rear windscreen, has been cleared of any offence by a jury.
Kyle Roy was allegedly involved in an incident where the windscreen of an Audi parked in Hurleybrook Way, Leegomery, Telford, was blasted. He and Audi owner Ishmael Zafar had earlier that evening been involved in an altercation over a gambling machine at a pub, in Hadley.
He was accused of telling Mr Zafar he was going to get his 'botty', a slang term for a shotgun. The jury was told he was either the gunman or the driver of a Honda Civic captured on CCTV arriving seconds before the shooting then leaving the scene, shortly after 8.30pm on January 19.
But Roy, 28, formerly of Arleston, was cleared at Shrewsbury Crown Court of any wrongdoing.
In his closing speech Mr Andrew Baker, defending barrister, said: “He says that he was not a gunman and that he was not the getaway driver. From the prosecution’s case are you sure that he was the gunman or that he was the get away driver?
“In order to be guilty he has to be one or the other,” Mr Baker said.
Mr Baker said CCTV footage of the argument suggested that it was Mr Zafar who had been the aggressor and not the defendant.
He told the jury that the evidence had been 'circumstantial' and had given an 'incomplete picture'.
He said Mr Zafar and his brother Mohammed had given different accounts relating to whether there was a CCTV system at their home.
Mr Baker said there were also questions over the police investigation.
He also said there was no DNA evidence linking the defendant to the Honda.
Roy did not give evidence in the trial. The weapon was never recovered.
Roy, now of Manchester, denied an offence of discharging a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Judge Jonathan Gosling told he he was free to go following the verdict.
