Mohammed Basharat murder trial: Driver 'executed' in road rage revenge

Ricardo Linton, 45, is on trial at Bradford Crown Court charged with murder and attempted murder

A taxi driver was "executed in cold blood" in a revenge attack for a road rage incident, a court has heard.

Prosecutors say Ricardo Linton, 45, shot dead Mohammed Basharat, 33, after the two men had been involved in a "scuffle" the previous night.

Bradford Crown Court heard Mr Linton allegedly shot Mr Basharat twice in the head in Bradford in October 2001 before opening fire on a second man.

Mr Linton, of no fixed abode, denies charges of murder and attempted murder.

Prosecutor Richard Wright QC said the men were involved in "a mild incident of road rage" on the evening of 19 October 2001 after Mr Linton blocked Mr Basharat's vehicle with his own.

He said the two men had got out of their vehicles and the defendant was placed in a headlock, but managed to escape when the pair fell to the ground.

He told jury that as Mr Linton ran off he threatened Mr Basharat, saying he would "come back and kill him".

The following night, he said, Mr Linton walked into a taxi office on Park Lane wearing a green balaclava and fired four shots, hitting Mr Basharat in the head and mouth.

"The gunman had come to kill Mohammed Basharat, just as he promised he would the previous day," Mr Wright told the jury.

'Disproportionate revenge'

After opening fire on Mr Basharat, the barrister said Mr Linton then turned the gun on another driver in the office, but the weapon jammed and he ran off.

He told the jury the other driver was targeted because Mr Linton thought he could identify him.

Mr Wright described the defendant as "a man with a very short temper".

He said: "He was willing to use a firearm to extract a wholly disproportionate revenge.

"He was prepared to execute a man in cold blood because he felt slighted."

The trial continues.