ONE of three men accused of attempted murder told a jury he lied to police because he was scared.
Carl Hughes, of Abbey Road, Fartown, admitted lying about his whereabouts during the shooting of Sheffield man Damian Munroe in Huddersfield on April 22, 2006.
Mr Munroe was hit in the head with a bullet as he sat in a Jeep at Cross Church Street in the early hours incident.
Hughes, 31, is charged alongside Bradley Okoro, 22, of New Hey Road, Oakes, and James Collier, 27, of Stoney Cross Street, Taylor Hill.
They all deny attempted murder, attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, violent disorder and possessing a firearm.
Under cross-examination at Bradford Crown Court, Hughes admitted he falsely told police he was standing outside the Dixie Chicken takeaway at Cross Church Street when the shooting happened – some distance from where it took place.
CCTV pictures showed he was actually in a group much closer to the incident.
Hughes said: "I was scared about the circumstances I was in – getting arrested and getting done for attempted murder.
"I hadn’t done anything wrong as far as I was concerned and I was scared – not just of the legal consequences, but of the whole fact of the situation with people firing guns.
"I shouldn’t have lied in the first place, I should have been straightforward."
The court heard Hughes had gone out in Huddersfield with Collier that night and had "quite a lot" to drink.
They were joined by another man who Hughes claimed not to know at the time, but discovered was Okoro.
The group went to Visage and Ethos nightclubs but left after Collier was kicked out. After making their way to Cross Church Street, Hughes ordered takeaway food.
He told the court he was walking up the street when he heard shouting.
He added: "I heard bangs from cars crashing and gunfire."
He said he panicked when he realised what had happened and ran off down the street before walking home.
He later handed himself in to police after a friend told him officers had been looking for him.
The prosecution claims Okoro was the gunman and that Hughes and Collier were his associates in a pre- meditated act of violence against the men from Sheffield, including Mr Munroe.
Cross-examining Hughes, prosecutor Tom Bayliss QC said the trio had a deadly intent when they approached a group of cars, including the Jeep, that were parked on Cross Church Street.
He said: "You, your friend Mr Collier and Mr Okoro, armed with a gun, have gone down to where the cars were parked with a purpose and the purpose was to get at the man and shoot."
Hughes denied the allegation.
