I'm a drug dealer not a gunman, accused tells shooting trial
25.05.2022 - 10:11
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man accused over two shootings has told a jury he wasn't involved, insisting he was merely selling drugs. Dominic Hughes, 28, insisted he had nothing to do with the shootings, one at a taxi office in Salford and another at a house in Whitefield months later.
He is standing trial alongside two other men, the alleged gunman at both shootings Aaron Gray, 25, and Benjamin Yates, 29. A woman had a gun pointed at her in a 'terrifying' shooting at a Salford taxi office, a prosecutor has told Manchester Crown Court.
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All three men deny involvement. Jurors heard that a woman was working at the Swan taxis office on Church Street in Eccles at about 10pm on December 8, 2019.
She heard a 'loud bang' on the front door. She asked who was there, and didn't receive a response. "She looked through the window and she saw there was a man stood with a gun," prosecutor Andrew Ford QC has said.
"He was pointing the barrel of the gun towards her." Mr Ford said she shouted to a colleague: "He's got a f****** gun."
Shortly after she heard a 'loud bang'. "It need hardly be said, it was terrifying," Mr Ford said. Police recovered a single 9mm fired cartridge case.
He said Mr Gray was forensically linked to a Glock pistol found 'dumped' in a wheelie bin, along with black gloves and a black balaclava. Mr Hughes was also found to be forensically connected with the gun, jurors heard.
After the incident, a taxi driver was involved in a head on collision on Eccles Old Road with a stolen VW Touareg said to have been used by those allegedly involved in the shooting. The male taxi driver was taken to hospital after the crash.
He 'staggered' out of his car and fell onto the road. Jurors