Dad fired gun after ‘losing face’ in row outside Wolverhampton pub

Jemyle Williams was slapped and hit over the head with a bottle as a crowd of revellers outside the Bond Street Tavern in Wolverhampton became increasingly unruly.

The agitated 28-year-old was caught on CCTV grabbing a man round the neck before going to the white VW Golf in which he had arrived less than 20 minutes earlier, the city’s Crown Court heard.

He removed a loaded revolver from the glove box and returned to the group which quickly broke up as people saw the black handgun he was carrying and took cover, explained Mr Russell Pyne, prosecuting.

Williams was looking for a man he felt had made him look foolish in front of friends but did not aim at the individual.

The weapon was pointed skywards when he pulled the trigger, the court was told.

An officer outside Wolverhampton’s Bilston Street police station heard the gunfire shortly after 3.30am on July 29 last year.

Moments later 999 calls from eyewitnesses reported a man on the loose with a gun in Bond Street.

The area was sealed off and a search uncovered a spent cartridge in the road.

Police also found CCTV footage showing the run up to the incident and its aftermath but not the shooting itself.

The VW in which Williams had been travelling was found and he was arrested after being identified as the gunman.

Mr Gurdeep Garcha, defending, maintained: “This resulted from the loss of face of a young man surrounded by associates and peers.

"He was jostled and manhandled and took it badly.

“He accepts his response was a gross over reaction but in the heat of the moment he felt he needed to make a statement.

"It was very stupid and dangerous but it was not an attempt to hurt anybody.

"He did not want to shoot people and the gun was not his.

"He comes from a loving and law abiding family who are devastated but he was not keeping the most ideal of company.”

Williams, who was banned from Wolverhampton and has been living at James Walk, Rugby as part of his bail conditions, admitted possession of a prohibited firearm. It has not been recovered.

Judge Simon Ward told him: “You were angry and wanted to make it plain you were not somebody to be messed with.

“You were dangerous – an angry man with a loaded gun and the safety catch off – but I accept you fired into the air.”