Information on Loughborough

Loughborough Shooting Conviction

Posted on 21/04/2008
P. Klein

jermain cartyA Birmingham man has been convicted today (Monday April 21) of the attempted murder of a security guard at a concert at Loughborough University Students Union last year.

Jermain Winston Carty (30) of Canary Grove, Birmingham had denied shooting Aaron Waller, a 22-year old student who was working as a security guard at the event where American R n B band, Pretty Ricky played to a crowd of over 1000 people.

Carty claimed that he was wrongly identified as the gunman who shot Mr Waller at the gig in the early hours of March 11, 2007 but was convicted today and sentenced to 14 years in prison following a trial lasting almost three weeks at Leicester Crown Court.

Carty had also denied possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life but was convicted of this offence in addition to the attempted murder.

The shooting happened after trouble broke out at the gig when a CS gas canister was set off in the crowd. Cartys large gold necklace was broken in the incident and he argued with security staff who ejected him from the building. As he was led out he dropped a Beretta pistol and magazine with live bullets, which was confiscated by security. They let him go when a crowd outside turned hostile and at this point he was handed another gun, a Glock 9mm self-loading pistol, which he fired towards the security staff, seriously injuring Mr Waller.

Mr Waller sustained three bullet wounds in the incident. One bullet went through his chest, bursting his liver and damaging his kidney. Another passed through his thigh and a third caused injury to his lower leg. He was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, remaining in hospital for three weeks. He has since made a good physical recovery but has been left scarred physically and mentally by the incident.

Speaking today after the verdict, Mr Waller said: "Today is not a celebration for me - I have waited over a year for this. I am very relieved and satisfied that justice has been achieved.

The past year has been extremely difficult and distressing. I hope now to try and put this all behind and look forward to the future.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have shown concern and supported me, in particular the Leicestershire Constabulary, and the ambulance service and Leicester Royal Infirmary who saved my life. And Id also like to express my gratitude to my family, girlfriend and friends including those at the university. I could not have got through this ordeal without them.

The police investigation which followed saw close collaboration between Leicestershire Constabulary and Loughborough University and Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Taylor, believes this partnership approach helped in gathering the vital evidence which secured todays conviction.

DCI Taylor said: "By far the majority of the people attending the gig, only around a hundred or so of whom were students, were law-abiding members of the public out to have a good time. Carty on the other hand is a well-known criminal with a history of gun and gang related crime and a man who has chosen a path of violence in his life. He was an outsider at the gig, attending with members of his gang from the West Midlands. He had a weapon, as did at least one of the men with him, and he clearly had no qualms about using a gun to settle what we can only assume he saw was a sleight against him.

"In the aftermath of the shooting, we worked closely with the staff at Loughborough University, who contributed to our large scale media appeals for witnesses and in supplying information which would later help us to secure the conviction. Without the close partnership working this process would have been more difficult and I would like to thank them for their dedication to helping us achieve justice.

"I think it is especially important at the end of this trial, to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim and witnesses. Many have lived with the fear of reprisal or intimidation since the incident and their bravery in coming forward to give evidence has been vital to the success of the case. We deployed special liaison officers to work closely with key witnesses to support them through the investigation and subsequent trial.

"Thankfully, this kind of incident is incredibly rare in our area. Leicestershire Constabulary, along with police forces across the country, is committed to intensive intelligence gathering around individuals involved in gun crime and to the thorough investigation of any shooting or gun-related incident to ensure we do all we can to prevent and detect these offences.

"Cartys choice to become involved in guns and crime makes him a dangerous man and we are pleased with todays verdict. I can only hope that the fact Carty has faced justice in respect of this incident, will allow all those involved, but particularly Aaron Waller, to move on with their lives."

In a joint statement on behalf of Loughborough University and Loughborough Students Union, Vice Chancellor Professor Shirley Pearce said: "As a small, close knit community, the incident last year shocked us all at the University and Union. It was an unprecedented event on campus.

"We are pleased that it has now been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The student injured in the incident has thankfully made a full recovery and due to his determination and resilience, he remains on course to complete his degree on schedule.

"We have not let this unfortunate incident prevent us from continuing to make Loughborough a great place to work and study."