A gunman accused of blasting two brothers with a s

A gunman accused of blasting two brothers with a sawn-off
shotgun was cleared of attempted murder at the Old Bailey today
Thursday.

Judge Francis Petre directed the jury to acquit Vince Dewey,
21, of the charges because the shots fired during a fracas after
a 21st celebration were not life threatening.

The gun when it was fired, was too far away from brothers
Glenn and Danny Crouch to have caused fatal injuries, the court
heard.

Mark Munro, 19, who allegedly incited Dewey to shoot, was
cleared of the same charges.

But the pair remain on trial for causing grievous bodily harm
with intent.

Dewey, Munro, his brother Neil, 22, and Anthony Pettit, 20,
were also cleared of violent disorder and affray after the judge
ruled that there was insufficient evidence for a safe conviction.

Judge Petre told the jury: ‘I have spent considerable time
analysing all the evidence and I conclude there is no evidence
for a reasonable jury to convict any of these defendants on those
charges.

‘Indeed, having read through my notes, the whole tenor of the
evidence is that the Munro brothers and Pettit were the subject
of attack rather than aggressors.

‘
There was no evidence at all that Dewey was involved in any
violence before the shotgun incident, the judge added.

Neil Munro, an insurance agent of Hunters Walk, Plaistow, and
Pettit, a postman of Stratford Road, Plaistow, only faced those
charges and walked free from the dock.

The court has heard that the shooting occurred as a 21st
celebration for Danny Crouch wound down in the early hours of
August 2 last year.

Mark Munro, a guest, is alleged to have sprayed CS gas in the
face of Mr Crouch’s brother Glenn, 28, then fled from the Malmsbury
Road, Bow, flat with the other defendants.

In nearby Addington Road, the Crouch brothers were gunned
down by Dewey, who had collected a sawn-off shotgun from his
home after trouble broke out, the court was told.

But Dewey told the jury he had brought the gun at Mark
Munro’s insistence but never intended to use it, despite his
co-defendant’s orders.

Instead, Dewey and Munro grappled for the weapon, which went
off suddenly accidentally, hitting Glenn Crouch.

Mr Crouch later spent two days in hospital, suffering from
shotgun wounds.

Jobless Mark Munro, of Hunters Walk, Plaistow, denies
assaulting Glenn Crouch, causing actual bodily harm, for the CS
gas attack.

He and Dewey, of Bow Road, Bow, deny causing grievous bodily
harm with intent.

Dewey was cleared of possessing the shotgun with intent to
endanger life but still faces a charge of having a firearm with
intent to cause grievous bodily harm, which he denies.

The trial continues.

ENDS