The man was cleared of the shooting.

Man cleared of Lawrence Road ‘Valentine’s Day’ party shooting

by Court Reporter Sunday, August 19, 2012
7:00 AM

A man who brandished a pistol moments before a reveller was blasted in the stomach at an illegal party in Tottenham has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

Antonio Wilson, 31, drew the loaded weapon in a crowded corridor during the party at an office block in Lawrence Road, South Tottenham.

Shortly afterwards, 38-year-old Kieran Gilbert was shot in the stomach and arm, causing partygoers to flee in terror into the street outside.

Wilson, of Tyndale Court, Brookfield Road, Homerton, was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, but cleared of wounding Mr Gilbert with intent by an Old Bailey jury.

He insisted someone else had fired the shots that left the victim needing emergency surgery.

The shooting was part of a catalogue of violence at the party on February 12. Mr Gilbert decided to go along at around 2am after hearing it advertised on a Jamaican radio station, joined by friends Gregory Bennett, Damien Fraser and Marlon Hamilton.

By the end of the night, Mr Bennett had suffered a partially collapsed lung after being jabbed with a knife, Mr Gilbert needed part of his bowel removed after being shot and Mr Fraser suffered a cut to his head after being hit with a bottle of whisky. Mr Hamilton had been shot and stabbed in the back. All four men have since recovered from their injuries.

Violence had flared shortly before 6am when the victims’ group was approached by a group of 10 to 12 “aggressive” men. When Mr Gilbert came to ask what was happening, Wilson aimed the gun at him moments before he was shot by another gunman.

The case against O’Neil McLeod, 38, of Carterhatch Lane, Enfield, was thrown out part-way through after the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to support a charge of wounding with intent.

Charges against Paul Nicolaou, 29, of Risley Avenue, Tottenham, and Leon Smith, 31, of Kings Drive, Gravesend, Kent, were thrown out before the trial began.