Man who grabbed thug's gun and blasted him in pub shootout cleared of attempted murder

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A man who grabbed a gun from a masked thug and blasted him twice in the chest was, on January 18, cleared of attempted murder but found guilty of wounding with intent.

Criminals Alan Roberts and James Freeman clashed in a terrifying pub ordeal that was captured on CCTV footage. Freeman, aged 24, was armed with a loaded weapon when he hunted down Roberts, 29, outside of the Old Bank Pub in Liverpool.

Roberts ran inside, hid behind the door and when Freeman entered just seconds behind him, reached for the gun, as reported by Liverpool Echo.The pair wrestled over the weapon, which went off, when two bullet fragments hit Roberts in the groin area.Liverpool Crown Court heard two other men started kicking Freeman on the floor, as Roberts took the gun, then "racked" it to eject a misfired cartridge.

Prosecutors said Roberts then fired twice into Freeman's chest at "point blank range" when he was "overpowered" and "no longer a threat".But he argued he acted in self-defence and thought Freeman might be reaching into his pocket for a second weapon.Miraculously, Freeman survived, but he has one bullet lodged permanently in his lung and another near his heart.The shooting, on Monday, May 17 last year - the first day out of lockdown - saw both men set to stand trial for attempted murder.However, Freeman, of Pennard Avenue, Huyton, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.This was accepted by the prosecution, who offered no evidence on the attempted murder charge.Roberts, from Page Moss but now of Heyes Street, Everton, denied all three offences in a five-day trial.His barrister, Nick Johnson, QC, told the jury Freeman was "the assassin" and his client was "the