The Old Bailey case of four men charged over the shooting of black equal rights campaigner Sasha Johnson at a 30th birthday party in May 2021 has collapsed.
Ms Johnson, a mother-of-two, was shot in the head during a silent disco in the garden of a house on Consort Road in Peckham, south London, just before 3am on Sunday May 23 last year.
Having initially been described as “critical”, her condition is now said to be serious but stable as she continues to receive treatment in hospital.
Prince Dixon, 25, of Gravesend, Kent, Troy Reid, 20 of Southwark, Cameron Deriggs, 19, of Lewisham, and Devonte Brown, 19, of Southwark, had denied conspiracy to murder.
They had also pleaded not guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
A trial had been fixed for March 7 but at an Old Bailey hearing on Tuesday the prosecution announced the Crown would not be pursuing the case.
Ms Johnson, 28, is a founding member of the Taking The Initiative Party and had been a prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement last summer.
Police have said previously they do not believe she was the intended victim of the shooting.
The defendants appeared by video link from Belmarsh top security prison for the hearing before Mr Justice Hilliard QC.
During the hearing, Mr Heywood outlined the circumstantial case against the defendants, saying the decision to drop the case had followed a careful review involving the highest level at the Crown Prosecution Service.
He said he was unable to give full reasons for the decision but had provided details to the court as to why the CPS had no option.
The case against the defendants for an alleged conspiracy was based on “circumstantial evidence” and there was no direct evidence identifying any of them, the prosecutor explained.
The core evidence came from contact with each other, phone data and their movements, the court heard.
Mr Heywood said the Crown was “duty bound” to consider the test within the prosecutors’ code and be satisfied there is sufficient evidence to bring charges with a “realistic prospect of conviction”, and that the case was not in the public interest.
He added that, because of the importance of the decision, the court had been provided with information in private for it to better understand the background.
Offering no evidence, he said: “The prosecution regrets this step is necessary at this advanced stage. There, in reality, is no other alternative available.”
The defendants, wearing black tracksuits, hugged each other and celebrated the verdict.
No members of Ms Johnson’s family were at court for the hearing.
