Sir Sean Connery observes murder case at the Old Bailey

17-Jun-2005 • Actor News

Sir Sean Connery was in court earlier this week - but purely as an observer of a case that interested him.

A man who shot a 18-month-old toddler as he sprayed a car with bullets was jailed for 25 years. Michael Nelson, 38, of Dagenham, east London, was one of three men who surrounded the vehicle and blasted it with a hail of bullets last October. He was jailed at the Old Bailey for 25 years for the attempted murder of four people, including the toddler. The other gunmen, Dwight Charlton, 26, and Horace Gordon, 34, both from Hackney, were jailed for 16 years - reports the BBC.

Up to 15 bullets were fired into the car, injuring the baby, her father and a friend. A two-year-old girl was unhurt. The gang was found guilty of two charges each of attempted murder following the shooting near a takeaway in Chatsworth Road, Clapton, east London.

Sentencing, Recorder of London Judge Peter Beaumont said: "For reasons beyond the comprehension of the court, you chose to open fire in a way which was intended to be a cold-blooded execution of the people who were in the car. That you didn't succeed is not due to you. It is due to complete good fortune that these four people survived."

Former James Bond star Sean Connery sat in the back of the court as they were sentenced but none of the defendants appeared to notice him.

He had been to a City of London lunch with judges at the court and said he found proceedings "interesting".

Thanks to `JP` for the alert.