Man found guilty of shooting victim in stomach with shotgun

A jury at Leeds Crown Court yesterday cleared Dwayne Mitcham, 26, of conspiring to murder teenager Daniel Wright and of an alternative charge of conspiracy to cause him grievous bodily harm but found him guilty of attempting to murder Mr Wright's father, Christopher, by a 10-2 majority.

The court had heard during the trial that after an earlier incident involving Daniel Wright and a smashed car window, Mr Wright senior went to answer a knock on the door at his home in Red Hall Chase, Whinmoor, Leeds, on April 6 and was blasted in the stomach by a man holding a single-barrelled shotgun.

Mitcham, of Ryan Place, Leeds, was also found guilty of possessing the shotgun with intent to endanger life but was cleared of possessing a self-loading pistol on April 13 and having ammunition without a firearm certificate on that date.

The jury also convicted him of possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate on April 28 by an 11-1 majority but cleared him of possessing prohibited ammunition and having ammunition without a firearms certificate on July 29.

A second defendant, Ryan Coleman, 21 was also found not guilty by the jury of conspiring to murder Daniel Wright or conspiracy to cause him grievous bodily harm but was found guilty of conspiracy to assault him.

Coleman, of Eastmoor Crescent, Roundhay, Leeds, was remanded in custody for a probation report and will be sentenced at a later date along with two others who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assault.

The prosecution claimed the quartet met up in a pub car park before going to Red Hall Chase after Coleman was told that Daniel Wright had smashed the window of a car registered to him.