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18
Jul 2022
Chef shot his baker at Harrogate gastro pub
A chef shot his underling baker in the eye with an air pistol, “effectively” blinding him, a court heard.
Brad Tristan Plummer, 25, fired the gas-powered ball-bearing gun at Aidan Corbyn at their workplace, the Nelson Inn gastro pub in Killinghall, a jury at York Crown Court was told.
Mr Corbyn was taken to hospital for a procedure to remove the ball bearing from his eye, said prosecutor Howard Shaw.
He said the horrific incident on September 29, 2020, began innocently enough but turned into something more sinister.
Mr Shaw said:
Mr Corbyn later said that he agreed to go outside because he was scared of Mr Plummer, his boss.
The two men went outside to the back of the pub where they lined some bottles up as targets. Mr Shaw said:
Mr Plummer kept firing at the bottles until it appeared there were no more pellets left inside the magazine. They returned to the kitchen at about noon and Mr Corbyn went back to work. Mr Shaw said:
Mr Plummer started pointing the pistol at Mr Corbyn, “pretending to shoot him”, added the prosecuting barrister.
Safety catch
At that stage, it appeared that Mr 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”, which Mr Shaw said amounted to "bullying him".
Things turned uglier when Mr Plummer pointed the pistol at Mr Corbyn’s face “from a distance of about one metre”.
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Mr Shaw added:
Admits GBH
Mr Plummer admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm at a previous hearing but denies a second count of possessing a firearm with intent to cause Mr Corbyn to fear that violence would be used against him. Mr Shaw said:
Mr Plummer, who lives at the Nelson Inn on Skipton Road, was arrested and taken in for questioning.
He told police he thought the air pistol wasn’t loaded at the time he aimed it at Mr Corbyn. Mr Shaw said:
Mr Shaw said the safety catch was “clearly not on” when Mr Plummer shot the baker.
The trial continues.
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