Man in court accused over shooting of boy, 7

JURORS have been sworn in for the trial of a Stockport man accused over the shooting of a sevenyear-old boy and his mother on their own doorstep.

The mother, 30, and her son were blasted in the legs after they opened the door of their home.

The boy was hit in the thigh and his mother was shot in each leg above the knee.

Both underwent a series of surgeries before being discharged.

John Thomasson, of Wakefield Crescent, Stockport, and six other men have appeared at Manchester Crown Court in connection with the shooting.

The incident happened in the suburb of Winton in Eccles, on October 12, 2015.

Mr Thomasson, 50, denies a charge that he conspired with others to commit murder between October 10 and 13, 2015.

Carne Thomasson, 28, Christopher Hall, 49, and Aldaire Warmington, 32, all of no fixed abode, have all pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

The four men and three others – James Coward, 21, and Dominic Walton, 26, both of no fixed abode, and Lincoln Warmington, 32, of Summerville Road, Salford – also deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The particulars of the charge allege that the seven men conspired with others to dispose of an Audi car said to have been used as part of the alleged conspiracy to commit murder.

Beside the seven men in the dock are two other men accused over another shooting.

Jacob Harrison, 26, of Sumberland House, Salford, and John Kent, 54, of Culverwell Drive, Salford, deny conspiring with others to commit murder in connection with the shooting of a 28-year-old man at a car wash on Bolton Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield on March 30, 2015.

Mr Kent also denies a charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, the particulars of the charge alleging he and another man provided false work records.

Each of the nine defendants, all flanked by security officers, watched from the dock as a jury panel of 12 – nine women and three men – were sworn alongside two reserve jurors.

The judge, Mr Justice Popplewell, told the jury panel: “You and I have different parts to play in trying this case. You decide whether each defendant is guilty or not.

“You must judge the evidence and decide the relevant facts of the case when you come to consider your verdicts. That’s your responsibility and yours alone.”

The jurors were sent home and told to return on Wednesday morning (January 30), when the prosecution is due to open its case. The trial is scheduled to last seven weeks.