Jury discharged in trial of man accused of shooting teenage girl in Tottenham
The Old Bailey had heard Tanesha Melbourne-Blake may not have been the intended target
A jury has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts in the trial of a man accused of taking part in the fatal drive-by gang shooting of a 17-year-old girl.
Tanesha Melbourne-Blake may not have been the intended target when she was killed in the Northumberland Park area of Tottenham, north London, on April 2 2018, the Old Bailey was told.
Michael Clarke, 36, was on trial for Tanesha's murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
After it was made clear that jurors would not be able to reach verdicts, Judge Mark Dennis KC told them on Friday: "I discharge you from returning verdicts in this case.
"That means that this matter will have to be re-tried on a much later date obviously with a fresh jury and the issues looked at by 12 fresh eyes.
"Do not be despondent about this, and don't think in any way that you have not done what you are supposed to be doing."
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC had told jurors Tanesha was shot during a ride-out from Wood Green into Northumberland Park, as a result of a "slight" to a man named Marcus La Croix in the early hours of April 1 2018.
Outlining the background, Ms Ledward said there had been "longstanding enmity" and territorial rivalry between criminal gangs operating in north London, in particular the Northumberland Park Killers (NPK) and the Wood Green Mob (WGM).
She said disputes took the form of "a series of violent tit-for-tat incidents".
Ms Ledward alleged that La Croix had been beaten up by men with links to NPK in the early hours of April 1.
Clarke denied the charges against him and asserted that he was not in the ride-out vehicle, jurors heard.