Man shot by police in Wood Green prison escape plot not holding gun, jury hears

Jermaine Baker was not holding the imitation gun found in the car, the jury heard

A man shot dead by police as they foiled an attempt to help a prisoner escape, was not holding an imitation gun found in the car, a jury has heard.

As police moved in the replica Uzi machine gun was found in the back of the car in Wood Green, north London.

Jermaine Baker, 28, was sitting in the front passenger seat when was killed by a single shot on 11 December 2015.

Ozcan Eren, 31, of Wood Green, and Eren Hayser, 25, of Enfield, deny trying to help free Izzet Eren last year.

Woolwich Crown Court was told that the replica Uzi machine gun was on the floor of the car next to a back seat.

Jermaine Baker, of Tottenham, was sitting in the front passenger seat wearing a rolled up balaclava and gloves.

'Not going to get caught'

He also had a small bag with a phone, described as a "burner phone".

The jury in the trial will not be considering the legality of the shooting but considering whether two other men were part of the escape plot.

The shooting happened in Bracknell Close close to Wood Green Crown Court

Police had been watching the gang for months. They had placed a bug in the stolen car and were following it and watching other vehicles.

Nathan Mason was driving the car on the day, Jermaine Baker was in the front passenger seat while a third man, Gokay Sogucakli was in the back.

The jury heard Jermaine Baker told the others sitting with him in the car: "We are not going to get caught, we are going to drive away."

Izzet Eren, Nathan Mason and Gokay Sogucakli, all of Tottenham, have previously pleaded guilty to conspiring in the escape plot and conspiring to carry an imitation firearm with criminal intent.

But the defendants in this trial Ozcan Eren and Eren Hasyer are accused of commanding the escape attempt from another car by mobile phone.

The prosecution says the target was a prison van heading from Wormwood Scrubs police towards Wood Green Crown Court where inside, Izzet Eren was on his way to be sentenced for a firearms offence.

He had a hidden mobile phone and used it to text his cousin Ozcan Eren the number plate of the van he was being transported in, along with his location in the van, the court heard.

The prosecution said in the minutes before the police moved in, mobile phone evidence and transcripts from the bug showed that Ozcan Eren called Mason in the so-called "mission car" parked nearby to pass on the information.

Ozcan Eren and Eren Hayser deny conspiring to aid the escape of an offender and possession of an imitation firearm.