Dafydd Enoch KC and Justin Jarmola’s client acquitted of Wolverhampton shooting Murder.

A twenty-one year old man, from Wolverhampton, has been acquitted of murder following an eight-week Trial in the Crown Court at Wolverhampton. The Defendant was represented by Dafydd Enoch KC, leading Justin Jarmola.

The Prosecution initially asserted that the Defendant was part of an agreement to murder alleged rival gang members within the Wolverhampton area. That allegation morphed into the Defendant having been part of a joint enterprise to kill, by shooting, a drug dealing rival. In the alternative to murder, the Prosecution asserted that the Defendant was guilty of manslaughter.

On 4th March 2025 the deceased was shot dead outside a Primary School in Wolverhampton by a friend of the Defendant, who had been driven to and away from the scene of the shooting by a co-accused in a stolen car. A friend of the deceased present at the scene was also shot, but survived.

The Defendant was said to have been involved in the sourcing of firearms, and, in full knowledge of what was to occur, to have dropped the shooter and the driver off to the car used in the shooting and then collected them after the killing when telephoned to do so. Further, the Defendant was said to have assisted the shooter flee the country before he could be arrested.

The Defendant’s case was that the shooter and his co-accused were friends of his, and he accepted being involved in street-level drug supply in association with them and others. However, he did not assist nor participate in the shooting itself. A detailed deconstruction by the defence team of the voluminous mobile telephone and CCTV evidence supported the Defendant’s lack of participation.

The jury deliberated for over a week before acquitting the Defendant of both murder and manslaughter. He was convicted of other drug and firearms offences.