Paolo Bessa da Silva acquitted of shooting man at point-blank range with shotgun at Waterloo Corner

A man who allegedly shot another man in the face with a shotgun, blinding him and causing a crash, has walked into the arms of his family after being acquitted.

A man allegedly filmed holding a sawn-off shotgun minutes before another man was shot in face, blinding him, has been acquitted of attempted murder and intentionally causing serious harm.

The verdict acquitting Paolo Bessa Da Silva in any role in the Waterloo Corner shooting on April 23, 2020, was met with gasps of joy and cheers from his family.

Mr Bessa Da Silva walked into the arms of his loved one after almost two years in custody on the charges.

But the question remains – who pulled the trigger on that night, leaving a man blinded and with permanent facial scars?

During the trial Justice Laura Stein, hearing the case in the absence of a jury, was told the victim pulled up in a car outside a Waterloo Corner property in the early hours of the morning.

The property was on a road with no street lighting and no neighbouring houses.

Minutes later the victim was shot at point blank range with a sawn-off shotgun, blinding him and spraying blood throughout the interior of the car.

The victim drove off but because of his injuries crashed 50m up the road.

He got out the car and stumbled down the road before collapsing 70m from the car.

The District Court released this photos of the scene of the victim’s car, which crashed after he was shot in the face. Picture: SA Courts

When paramedics arrived they found the car crashed and could hear the victim calling for help.

The paramedic who arrived at the scene first described the scene as “a pitch-black road and a voice coming from nowhere”.

They found the stricken man in the dark on the side of the road. “I can’t see anyone, I can’t see who you are,” the injured man told paramedics.

The ambulance officers responded they were there to help. “I’ve been shot in the face,” the victim replied.

Despite saying that, neither the victim nor an eyewitness to the shooting gave evidence at the trial with prosecutor Michael Foundas telling Justice Stein they were not co-operating with police.

The victim drove down the road after being shot in the face, and crashed into a tree. Picture: SA Courts

Mr Bessa Da Silva was, on the prosecution case, at the house before the shooting and had been caught on internal CCTV holding a sawn-off shotgun.

Mr Foundas said that, between 1.47am and 2.02am, Mr Bessa da Silva was filmed pacing at the rear of the property before occasionally looking down the driveway and then arming himself.

He said the victim arrived in his car at 2.02am and the man alleged to be Mr Bessa da Silva was last filmed at the rear of the property holding the firearm.

The security footage was blank to one minute and two seconds, during which the victim was shot.

The shotgun was never recovered and Mr Bessa da Silva was arrested at his sister’s house, where clothing similar to that filmed by the security camera footage was being washed.