This is the terrifying moment a record store owner keels over and almost dies in the street after an anaesthetic nurse jabs him with a deadly drug in a 'motiveless' attack. In shocking footage, Gary Lewis is shown sliding off a chair outside his shop, Betterdaze, before being helped into the recovery position by police officers. The video was taken shortly after he was injected with a dose of rocuronium by Darren Harris, 57, who has now been found guilty of attempted murder.
It's a pretty baffling crime, seemingly stemming from nothing. The defence tried a tactic of 'they had a falling out over selling some records' yet could produce no evidence this actually happened.
Today, Harris's 79-year-old father Kenneth told MailOnline of his shock about his son's bizarre attack, saying: 'Whatever has happened is out of order, it's just not him.' He told of how Harris and his wife were looking forward to their retirement after his son had worked his way up to become an anaesthetic nurse from a hospital porter.
*boggle*
Harris's stepmother and Kenneth's wife, Brenda Cahill, 79, says her daughter thinks he may have been having a psychotic episode when he carried out the attack.
Ya think!? But this was clearly well planned, not a spur of the moment episode of madness and loss of control....
Police bodycam also captures the moment Harris was arrested - and his shocking refusal to tell police what was in the syringe he used to attack Mr Lewis.
He should get longer for that alone.
Harris, who was today convicted of attempted murder, ambushed his victim on July 2 in Northallerton after prowling outside Mr Lewis's shop. The jury at Leeds Crown Court took less than two hours to find him guilty of attempted murder.
Two hours? The tea and biscuits in the jury room must have been good...
Sentencing was adjourned to assess Harris's level of 'dangerousness.'
Think that's pretty well established already.
He's lucky to be alive. Rocuranium is a paralytic that relaxed muscles during surgery to allow ventilation.
ReplyDeleteClearly Harris knew this and that like curare, is used by south American indigenous people to catch and kill prey/enemies.
Considering that the Plods and CPS are usually so keen to pile on additional charges, I'm surprised that GBH, misuse of prescription/controlled substances, etc weren't added.
We weren't at the trial, but considering the method used and intended outcome, had Mr Lewis been jabbed INSIDE his shop, he'd undoubtedly be dead..
In view of that and that Harriss was clearly intending a very public murder, I'm also surprised that the jury took more that ten minutes to reach the verdict.
Hopefully there will be a suitably long sentence or committal to Broadmoor, and considering his obvious guilt and intent, why the wait until April for sentencing when people have been banged up in a couple of days for a few hurty-words?