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But would be interesting to know how the driver came to be owing his co-accused £5,000
South Shields taxi driver tells court he did not plot to shoot or kill manhttps://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/no ... s-26406414Kevin Chapman told a court he played no role in the shooting at Ryan Carr's girlfriend's homeA taxi driver has denied plotting to murder or shoot a man and told a court he was driving around his co-accused to pay off a debt to him.
Kevin Chapman is standing trial along with Aaron Giles accused of conspiring to murder Ryan Carr after a masked gunman fired a shotgun through his girlfriend's door in South Shields while the couple and her toddler were inside.
Giles, who is accused of plotting the hit after falling into dispute with Mr Carr, declined to give evidence in his defence but Chapman went into the witness box at Newcastle Crown Court and denied any involvement. Chapman said he had previously worked as a mechanic and a doorman before becoming a taxi driver and was working for Blue Line Taxis at the time of the allegation and also did school runs.
He said he ended up owing Giles £5,000 and would sometimes drive him around in order to pay off some of that debt. He said what he saw while driving him led him to believe Giles was involved in something "to do with drugs".
Asked why he didn't stop driving him around, he said: "I was terrified of retributions and scared after some of the things I had seen." Chapman claimed Giles had shown him videos of cars on fire on his phone, which he said made him "alarmed" as he owed him money and didn't want anything happening to him.
Referring to the day of the shooting, Chapman's barrister, Robert Woodcock KC, asked: "Did you agree with Giles and anybody else that an attempt would be made to kill anybody?" He replied: "No I did not."
Mr Woodcock asked: "Did you on that day knowingly take possession or have any involvement with a firearm." He replied: "No I did not."
Mr Woodcock asked: "Had you made an agreement with Giles that anyone was going to be shot or anyone was going to be shot?" He replied: "No."
The barrister asked: "Had you been made aware a firearm would or might be brought into your car?" Chapman said: "No I wasn't."
He confirmed the gunman got into the back of his taxi before the shooting and said he knows who that person is but is too frightened to disclose their identity. Asked if he heard that man and Giles talking about why they were going to the scene of the shooting, he said he was not paying attention and had his radio on.
Chapman said when the gunman got out of his car, he saw him putting something down his pants which looked like a gun. And he said when they drove off, Giles shouted "Ryan" out of the window, which prosecutors allege was an attempt to lure Mr Carr out.
Two shots were fired through the front door of the house but no one was injured.
Giles, 29, of Richardson Avenue, South Shields, and Chapman, 40, of Hawthorne Avenue, South Shields, deny conspiracy to murder Mr Carr and the alternative charge of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. Giles has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, which Chapman denies.
The trial continues.
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