A DRIVER used his rental car as 'a weapon' the day before an alleged machete attack on a man in Worcester, a court heard.
However, Usman Multani, who was behind the wheel of the rental Mercedes, had been trying to 'lower the temperature' and act as a 'peacemaker' before the attack on Owais Saleem which left the victim with his 'face hanging off'.
* Revenge attack on home of brothers
* 'Peacemaker' attacked with weapons over Snapchat snitch
Multani's advocate said his client was acting as a mediator despite a 'call to arms' Snapchat message attacking him, comparing his family to excrement, and calling another man, Luke Bridger, a 'snitch'.
Usman Multani, 27, of Westminster Road, Ronkswood, Kaasim Multani, 23, also of Westminster Road and Shahenul Alam, 32, of Ivor Road, Sparkhill, deny attempted murder, violent disorder and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.
We have previously reported how Mr Saleem suffered a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain following the attack at around 1am in Wyld's Lane, Worcester on November 24, 2019.
Usman Multani's barrister, Michael Newport, cross-examined a defence witness on Monday afternoon and continued his questioning on Tuesday.
The witness, who cannot be identified by order of the court, denied that the people who hung around the Horizon Community Centre in Midland Road in Worcester were called the 'Perry Boys'.
"Nobody calls themselves Perry Boys. You can't really label them like that" he said.
Mr Newport again raised the matter of a Snapchat message which was sent by another prosecution witness who also cannot be named about the Multanis and Luke Bridger.
The message, which read 'snitches get stitches' was sent after an alleged attack on the home of Luke Bridger in Carlisle Road, Ronkswood, Worcester.
Mr Newport described the message as 'almost a call to arms' and that it would have been seen 'around the community'.
"Yeah, it would get around," the witness said.
The message also featured an excrement emoji and a reference to the Bridgers being 'toast', Mr Newport said.
Mr Newport said Multani had been trying to 'lower the temperature' but the witness responded: "I'm not sure about that."
The witness said threats over the phone were made to his brother, not to him. However, he did say Usman Multani said to him: "Are you a man? Is your brother a man?"
He said he responded 'yes' to both questions and that Multani said he was coming to their area.
The witness denied that there had been any arrangement for Usman Multani to come to his home and 'discuss anything'. When Usman Multani arrived in the Mercedes A-Class, the witness accepted he was part of a group that chased after the car.
"People, when they ran from the centre (the Horizon Community Centre) were armed with weapons, weren't they?" said Mr Newport.
The witness replied: "I don't know who was armed or if they were armed."
Mr Newport showed photos of the damage to the rental Mercedes on a large screen in the court. The defence say the damage was sustained when the car came under attack.
"If there was damage it was probably because he was driving erratically" said the witness.
The witness said he did not see Luke Bridger in the back of the car. Mr Newport had previously said that damage was centred around the back of the car where members of the group believed Mr Bridger to be sitting. "Maybe he (Usman Multani) was driving erratically and trying to ram people" said the witness.
The court had previously heard from another witness who said his knee was struck by the Mercedes and that the car also ran over his foot.
"Bricks were thrown at the window - did you see that?" said Mr Newport.
"I didn't see that" the witness replied. Mr Newport put it that 'someone had a bat' but the witness replied: "Not that I saw."
Mr Newport added: "Someone bashed in the back window."
The witness replied: "Not that I remember."
He added: "The car wasn't under attack. He (Usman Multani) used his car as a weapon - then he drove off, after using his car as a weapon."
Mr Newport said if he had used the car as a weapon he would have 'wiped half the group out'.
The trial continues.
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