R v Shay Shaw

Facts

The applicant, Shay Shaw, was 15 years and 11 months old at the time of the offending. In the early hours of 26 October 2024, Joe and Billy Raymond were walking their dog in Canning Town in East London when two men got out of a stolen Audi, chased the brothers down the street and fired seven shots at them. Joe Raymond was shot through the hand; Billy Raymond was shot in the back and left partially paralysed. The applicant and his co-defendants, Hill, Senga and Seidi, accepted that they were the four men in the stolen Audi. Only Seidi gave evidence, saying that nobody had got out of the car and that the group had happened upon a shooting carried out by others. The applicant, who suffers a range of mental health difficulties exacerbated by a moderate/severe traumatic brain injury sustained in a cycling accident in 2023, did not give evidence; his Defence Statement was the extent of the defence before the jury. At the close of the prosecution case his counsel applied under section 35(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 for the adverse inference direction to be withheld because of his mental condition. HHJ Casey refused the application after a voir dire. The applicant was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 21 October 2025 of two counts of attempted murder and one of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and sentenced to 14½ years' detention. The Registrar referred his application for permission to appeal against conviction to the Full Court.