Student tells court of being shot at Pretty Ricky concert
A university student has told a court how he was shot by a Birmingham man while working on the door at an R'n'B gig.
Aaron Waller, 22, told Leicester Crown Court he was working as a doorman at Loughborough University’s student union when he was hit three times at close range.
The second-year business studies student said there had been several incidents throughout the evening of March 10, 2007 when more than 1,000 people had gone to watch US act Pretty Ricky.
After restraining several people at different points throughout the night, Mr Waller said he was going to the aid of a fellow doorman who was being attacked by a gang of men outside the university’s JC’s Bar.
As he went to help him he turned to see a man pointing a gun at him.
He recognised the man as Jermain Carty, 30, of Canary Grove, Handsworth, Birmingham, who denies attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Mr Waller said Carty had earlier been causing trouble, threatening security staff and calling them "white trash".
As Mr Waller tried to flee, he was shot three times, once in the chest and twice in the leg.
Mr Waller told the court he had spent most of the evening working with a colleague at an international party upstairs in the students’ union.
When the party finished they had been called downstairs because of problems security staff had experienced earlier in the evening.
Mr Waller said trouble broke out in the Pit Bar - one of the areas within the student union building.
He said two groups of men were squaring up to each other; he restrained one of the men along with other security staff but a gas canister was let off and everybody moved out of the building.
As they were moving out, Mr Waller said he and other staff noticed a man - who he recognised as Carty - causing trouble.
Mr Waller said: "The defendant came through and started giving the security staff abuse, calling them ’white trash’ and holding a medallion chain.
"He was holding it up in people’s faces.
"He was a 6ft 2in, black, dark-skinned male, very large, very muscular, wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeved tight top. He was very aggressive, he was very much in people’s faces trying to provoke a reaction."
Mr Waller said more trouble started outside.
He said he had been involved in restraining two other men, while Carty was held down by some others, until they were all called off to another incident.
As they left, Mr Waller saw a gang of men attack one of his colleagues, "whipping him with belts and punching him".
He added: "I stopped and turned and immediately I saw the man pointing a gun at me."
Mr Waller said he ran into the student union building to escape the shooting.
The court heard the wounds Mr Waller could feel were his exit wounds, from shots to his side and to his leg, just under his buttock.
Mr Waller said one of the bullets had exited through his mobile phone, which was in his trouser pocket, smashing the phone to pieces.
Mr Waller said he had picked Carty out of an identity parade on May 22 last year and was sure it was the defendant who had shot him.
Mr Waller disagreed with defence suggestions that he had mistaken his shooter’s identity.
The court heard a taped interview between Mr Waller and police, recorded at Leicester Royal Infirmary on March 19 last year.
Tim Spencer QC, defending, said the student had linked the man who shot him with the man who had caused trouble over his medallion earlier in the night purely because of a suggestion from police during the interview.
He said: "I am suggesting to you that the suggestion that the shooter was the same person you had trouble with in JC’s bar did not come from you but was a suggestion put to you by one of the police officers."
He said it had taken Mr Waller several attempts to pick Carty out of a range of pictures in an identity parade and suggested he could not be sure it was him who had shot him.
He added: "Can I suggest to you what you did? You saw a gunman who was clearly a black male, of large build, who was firing at you.
"And you thought in your mind ’it makes sense if that is the same black male who was drawing so much attention to himself in JC’s bar’.
"’He had a grievance against security staff, it makes sense if he is the person shooting at security staff’."
But Mr Waller said although it was dark and everything had happened very quickly, he was sure it was Carty who had shot him.
He said: "I stood there, looked in his eyes, and saw him do it. When you’re looking someone in the face you know who that person is and there’s no question."
Carty has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
