Man 'accidentally killed brother with crossbow' during drug fight

The trio are accused of murdering Waseem Ramzan (pictured) and Khuzaimah Douglas

A member of a cannabis factory gang accidentally killed his brother with a crossbow and then used the weapon to kill an intruder, a court has heard.

Saghawat Ramzan, 47, fired a fatal shot at his brother, Waseem Ramzan, 36, during a conflict in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, last February.

A trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard he then fired a second shot which killed Khuzaimah Douglas, 19.

Mr Ramzan, his son Omar Ramzan and Mohammed Sageer deny their murders.

Opening the case, prosecutor Adrian Keeling QC said Saghawat and Omar Ramzan, 24, lived in Pensnett Road, in a house next door to a property used to grow cannabis worth up to £225,000 a year.

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Mr Sageer, 33, of Gorsty Avenue, Brierley Hill, is alleged to have driven to the street on 20 February to join efforts to protect the drug-growing operation, with an "ugly" armoury of weapons including a sword and two crossbows.

Telling jurors the rival gang had attacked the rear of the cannabis factory at about 02:30 GMT, Mr Keeling said of Saghawat and Omar Ramzan: "Despite the time of night, these two defendants were immediately aware of the attack."

CCTV captured Saghawat Ramzan firing a crossbow at the back of the cannabis factory, but it missed the intruders, striking a shed, the prosecutor said.

He stated: "Rather than let them (the rival gang) retreat into the night, they blocked their retreat and effectively boxed the raiders into the house."

Mr Douglas, the court heard, had the "fatal misfortune" to be caught by Waseem while attempting to flee.

As Mr Douglas struggled to fend off four assailants, Saghawat fired the first of two crossbow bolts.

But the barrister stated he did not hit the 19-year-old and instead the defendant hit his brother to the left side of the abdomen.

Saghawat killed Mr Douglas by firing the crossbow a second time, the prosecutor said.

Mr Keeling will continue his opening speech to the jury on Wednesday.