Four men charged with conspiracy to murder after Sasha Johnson was shot see the case against them dropped.
Image source, PA Media
The charges against four men accused over the shooting of black equal rights campaigner Sasha Johnson have been dropped.
The mother-of-two was shot in the head during a silent disco in the garden of a house on Consort Road in Peckham, south London, in May last year.
She suffered “catastrophic” and permanent injuries and remains in hospital.
At the Old Bailey, four men had denied conspiracy to murder.
Prince Dixon, 25, of Gravesend, Kent; Troy Reid, 20 of Southwark; Cameron Deriggs, 19, of Lewisham, and Devonte Brown, 19, of Southwark, had also pleaded not guilty to having a gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
A trial had been due to start on 7 March but at a hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution announced it would not be pursuing the case following a review.
Mr Justice Hilliard recorded formal not guilty verdicts after the prosecution offered no evidence.
Police have said previously they do not believe she was the intended victim of the shooting.
Ms Johnson is a prominent anti-racism campaigner who is a founding member of the Taking the Initiative Party. She was heavily involved in the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
At the time of the attack, Ms Johnson worked in community activism and community support after achieving a first class degree in social care from Ruskin College in Oxford.
Many people expressed their outrage and shock when the attack happened. Vigils were held and MPs, including David Lammy and Harriet Harman, tweeted their support for her.
Black Lives Matter UK described her as a “fearless campaigner” and said although she was not a member of their organisation, “she impressively founded a new Black-led political party and was dedicated to resist anti-Black racism”.
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- 24 May 2021