05:22 EDT, 30 July 2021
A record label owner accused of leading a double life as a gang member claims he was planning to use a loaded gun, gloves and balaclava as props for a music video.
Zico Reid, 34, denies being a member of one of south Manchester s most notorious street gangs - the Rusholme Crips.
Prosecutors allege he was a highly respected member of the gang when he was stopped by armed police after he was tracked around south Manchester s backstreets in 2019.
Reid was arrested and police found a Walther handgun in undergrowth in an alleyway off Heald Avenue, Rusholme.
He admitted possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, but denies it was related to gang activity, telling a Manchester court he needed the weapon after his business partner was kidnapped.