A chef who shot his baker in the eye with an air pistol, “effectively” blinding him, has been remanded in custody to await sentence.
Brad Tristan Plummer, 25, fired the gas-powered ball-bearing gun at Aidan Corbyn at their workplace, the Nelson Inn gastro pub in Killinghall.
Mr Corbyn was taken to hospital for a procedure to remove the ball bearing from his eye, York Crown Court heard.
Plummer admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied possessing a firearm with intent to cause Mr Corbyn fear of violence.
Yesterday (Thursday, July 21), a jury found Plummer not guilty of the second count following a four-day trial, but he now awaits sentence for GBH.
Prosecutor Howard Shaw said the horrific incident in September 2020 began innocently enough but turned more sinister.
He added:
“The defendant came into the kitchen and said, ‘I’ve got an air pistol’.
“(Plummer) was bragging to Aidan Corbyn about the gun, telling he.. he wanted to go outside and shoot at some bottles. He asked Aidan Corbyn to join him.”
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Mr Corbyn later said that he agreed to go outside because he was scared of Plummer, his boss.
The two men went outside to the back of the pub where they lined some bottles up as targets.
They returned to the kitchen at about 12 noon and Mr Corbyn went back to work.
The chef started pointing the pistol at Mr Corbyn, “pretending to shoot him”, said Mr Shaw.
He added:
“He kept pointing it at his face several times.”
Safety catch
At that stage, it appeared that Plummer had the safety catch on, but Mr Corbyn was so worried he tried to get away from him. However, his boss followed him, “laughing and joking and pointing the gun at Mr Corbyn”.
Things turned uglier when Plummer pointed the pistol at Mr Corbyn’s face “from a distance of about one metre”.
Mr Shaw said:
“He pointed the gun straight at his face (and) the air pistol discharged.
“Aidan Corbyn was shot in his left eye, the ball bearing lodging in his eye, effectively blinding him.”
Plummer, who lives at the gastro pub on Skipton Road, was arrested and taken in for questioning.
He told police he thought the air pistol wasn’t loaded when he shot Mr Corbyn.
Mr Shaw added:
“He said he thought the safety catch had been on and (that) he hadn’t aimed at Mr Corbyn.
“He said he and (Mr Corbyn) got on well and that this was an accident.”
