The Court refused directed verdicts of not guilty on counts of shooting with intent to murder, holding that physical and ballistic evidence (damage to the car headrest, gunshot injuries to occupants) was capable of supporting an inference of intent to kill even where the principal shooters did not expressly state such intent and had pleaded guilty only to lesser offences involving intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The Court confirmed that under extended joint criminal enterprise principles, secondary parties can be liable for attempted murder of persons other than the intended target where prior shooting incidents made it foreseeable that bystanders might be shot with murderous intent. The fact that the DPP accepted lesser pleas from the principals does not preclude prosecution of accessories for the more serious offence, following Likiardopoulos v The Queen.
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