Oldbury stabbing accused refuses to give evidence
The man accused of stabbing a fish and chip shop manager in an unprovoked attack has refused to give evidence during his trial - but his solicitor said it did not mean he was guilty.
Leon McTaggart, aged 29, is accused of beating and repeatedly stabbing Narinder Sidhu outside Simply Fish and Chips in Hagley Road West, Oldbury, on November 6 last year.
McTaggart denies wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and did not give evidence in his defence in court yesterday.
He was arrested on November 28 and answered 'no comment' in four separate interviews about the incident, the jury had heard.
In his closing statement yesterday, Mr Simon Warlock, defending, said people chose not to give evidence for 'hundreds and hundreds' of reasons, which is their right but that did not mean they were guilty.
"There are people in life who make bad decisions. It is not a good decision the defendant has made not to give evidence and I know it damages his credibility," Mr Warlock said.
"There is a reason and he has thought long and hard about it.
"Not everybody enjoys giving evidence, not everybody communicates well. People who can communicate well in life generally succeed better than those who don't. Those isolated few don't do terribly well if they can't communicate, and when it comes to something as serious as this that is a problem."
Witnesses had described the attacker as Asian, mixed race, and black, Mr Warlock said, and the victim had said his attacker was mixed race of Afro Caribbean.
This was not unusual in Birmingham or Wolverhampton, he said, one of the biggest multi-racial areas in the country.
"It could be any one of hundreds. I am sorry, I am going to be blunt. He is just another big black lad running down the street dressed as many young guys of his ethnic grouping, or any ethnic grouping."
The attacker was wearing a grey Adidas track suit, but Mr Warlock said this is the 'uniform of the age' and a common outfit.
He said: "If you drive down Hagley Road you can probably pick out half a dozen young men in them."
The victim, aged 51 – said to have served the 29-year-old defendant before - and his daughter both identified McTaggart in an ID parade. Two other witnesses did not identify him in an ID parade.
Mr Scott Coughtrie, prosecuting, said CCTV images of a man in a grey tracksuit, and images of McTaggart had been analysed by an expert witness using facial mapping. The expert witness said there is 'strong support' McTaggart is the man in the images, and Mr Coughtrie said this supports both Mr Sidhu and his daughter's identification of McTaggart in the ID parade.
Judge John Warner is due to sum up the case this morning (FRI) and the jury will begin deliberating.
The trial continues.
