Gun attack 'like gangster film'

Scene of the shooting on Balmore Road in Glasgow

A court has been told a shooting in Glasgow in which one man died and two were seriously injured was like "something out of a gangster movie".

The comment was made by Donald Findlay QC, defending James McDonald, 34.

Mr McDonald and Raymond Anderson, 46, deny murdering Michael Lyons, 21, and attempting to murder Steven Lyons, 27, and Robert Picket, 42.

Mr Pickett told the court the "wrong people" were in the dock. The trial at the High Court in Glasgow continues.

Mr Pickett was shot in the stomach during the attack at Applerow Motors on Balmore Road in Glasgow on 6 December, 2006.

His friend, Steven Lyons, was also injured, while Michael Lyons died after the attack.

Wrong men

Mr Pickett was a passenger in a car which Steven Lyons drove to the garage to see his uncle.

When he got out of the car, he came face to face with a gunman.

I sped off in my car and the back window went in, so it was obvious the car got shot at Steven Lyons

He said: "I got shot in the stomach and I staggered away, then fell to the ground."

He described the gunman as tall and thin but claimed it was not the man in the dock.

He said: "I find it a bit amusing that you have got the wrong people in the dock. It's the wrong people."

Advocate-depute, David Young, later produced a statement that Mr Pickett gave to police when he was in hospital recovering from the attack.

In the statement, he described the gunman as "well-made, not skinny, and wearing a rubber mask, like a joke mask, with long, curly hair and old man's features".

Mr Pickett said he could not recall giving the statement, but accepted he must have, as he had signed it.

He said he was unconscious for a month after the shooting and lost a kidney as a result of the attack.

Firearms charges

Steven Lyons, 27, said that he became aware that something was wrong when he heard his uncle, David Lyons, shouting "watch out" and saw two masked men in his wing mirror as he sat in the car.

He said: "I sped off in my car and the back window went in, so it was obvious the car got shot at.

"A bullet skimmed my back, but it was just a cut."

After smashing into a fence, Mr Lyons realised he was trapped, so dashed out and was then shot.

He said: "It snapped my bone and I just fell."

Donald Findlay QC, defending Mr McDonald, said the gunman seemed to be directly targeting Mr Lyons.

He said: "It is like something out of a gangster movie type of thing.

"A man came to the garage and there does seem to be evidence of a determination to shoot you. Would you agree with that?"

Mr Lyons agreed.

He suffered a broken femur and was in a splint for four weeks and a cast for between eight and 12 weeks.

Mr McDonald and Mr Anderson face further charges which they deny.

These include that, between November 24, 2004, and January 11, 2007, they allegedly reset three machine guns, a bipod, a telescopic sight, quantities of ammunition and a number of flares which had been stolen.

Both have lodged special defences of incrimination.

The trial, before Lord Hardie, continues.