Florida shooting witnesses offered protection

Jul 25 2011 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

WITNESSES who claim they saw a US teenager execute two Midland tourists in cold blood are being allowed to give evidence anonymously to prevent gangland reprisals.

Shawn Tyson, 16, appeared in court last week accused of murdering Warwickshire friends James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24 after they strayed into a Florida ghetto after a night out partying in April.

The Sarasota hearing was told that the prosecution case will most likely rest on secret eyewitness testimony.

And the witnesses have been offered confidentiality to protect them from revenge attacks by the feared Second Line gang, which has terrorised the area in recent years.

So far US cops have refused to comment on claims that Tyson may have had gang affiliations.

But the Sunday Mercury previously revealed that there were links between the teen and the gang, whose members are suspected of up to 12 murders.