Innocent passers-by were left “traumatised” as a revenge attack unfolded in the early hours of the morning on the streets of Cardiff, a court heard.
Witness Gary Evans, who was walking to work along Tudor Street in Riverside, feared he would be shot as two men brandished a gun and a piece of wood.
“I feared the gun would be turned on me,” said Mr Evans in a witness statement given to police after he saw a man fire three or four shots at another man walking along the road.
Desert Eagle pellet gun
Jacob St-Clair, 31, of the Huggard Centre in Butetown, and Jonathan Roberts, 32, of College Road, Llandaff, admitted affray on September 15 and have been sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.
The court heard that on June 20 Roberts borrowed his father’s Cadillac de Ville car.
Soon after his father noticed that his Desert Eagle pellet gun was missing.
CCTV revealed the two defendants took the car to a petrol station in Tudor Street at around 6.30am but did not pay, claiming they had been robbed.
'Slumped' in car
Mr Evans saw the men park on the pavement nearby and witnessed Roberts fire the gun several times at another man who then ran off.
The pair got back into the car and pursued him.
Later that morning Tanya Fletcher was driving next to Viva Brazil in the city centre with her children when she pulled up behind the Cadillac.
It did not move when the lights went green so she looked inside and saw Roberts “slumped” in the driver’s seat with blood on his face.
She then heard St-Clair shout: “Wake up and let me in. The police are coming.”
The men were arrested just before 11am. They both had facial injuries and answered “no comment” to all questions from police.
Dozens of convictions
When officers searched the car, they found canisters from the gun as well as two hammers.
Suzanne Thomas, prosecuting, said St-Clair had 37 convictions for 39 offences including assault, battery, theft and possession of offensive weapons.
Read more: Killer who murdered poet stepmother in brutal attack has jail term cut by more than two years
His barrister, Edward Mitchard, said: “It is clear that he was not the person in possession of the firearm, nor did he discharge it.
“No one was injured as a result of his actions.”
The court heard Roberts had 12 convictions for 37 offences including theft and possession of a weapon.
His representative Timothy Hartland admitted: “Clearly Mr Evans must have been significantly traumatised by what he saw.”
'Fresh start' hope
He stressed the incident was “not lengthy” and emphasised that no one was injured.
He told the court his client had two children, aged six and 15, and had not seen the youngest since he was arrested as the child’s mother was “fed up of his criminal behaviour”.
Read more: Locked up - the killers, paedophiles and other criminals sent to prison in Wales in September
Mr Hartland said Roberts wanted to make “a fresh start”.
'Capable of harm'
For full story see - http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/pair-jailed-after-gun-fired-10268068#rlabs=23%20p$7
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