A TTC bus driver who stopped and reported a violent street altercation in Scarborough was blinded by a gunman seconds after phoning for help, a jury heard yesterday.

Crown attorney Joshua Levy said in his opening address that driver Jamie Pereira suffered severe head injuries when he was shot in the head by Malcolm Chalmers on Oct. 15, 2005.

Chalmers, 23, whose nickname is "Buck," has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and use of a firearm in commission of an aggravated assault.

Pereira was driving south on Morningside Ave. shortly after 11:20 p.m. as he approached the bus stop at Sewells Rd., Levy said. A large group of men were involved in a confrontation and a number of them hopped on Pereira's bus.

One man yelled at Pereira to drive off, but the driver ignored him and called TTC dispatch to request that police be called, Levy said.

"Within seconds of Mr. Pereira requesting that police be called, a young man at the open front door of the bus brandished a handgun and shot two or three times at him," said Levy, who alleges Chalmers is the shooter.

An audio recording of Pereira's call to dispatch captured the moment he was shot. No one at the scene can identify Chalmers. None of the young men involved waited for police or emergency personnel to arrive, court heard.

There were only two other witnesses, two passengers, but the prosecution has no direct evidence against Chalmers, Levy said.

The bullets found at the scene were matched to a 9-mm handgun hidden on the balcony of a Lawrence Ave. E. apartment in September 2006, some 11 months after the shooting.

Police were called to the building after reports of people jumping from the balcony to a neighbouring apartment.

Chalmers and other men were later arrested and the 9-mm was seized.

Forensics experts concluded the firearm found on the balcony was the same one used in the shooting of Pereira, Levy said.

Chalmers' ex-girlfriend, Vanesse Lewis, will testify that Chalmers admitted he shot the bus driver that night, the Crown attorney said.

Lewis, who used to live within short walking distance of the Sewells Rd. shooting, will say that Chalmers "was acting unusual and spent a lot of time on his cellphone that night while she was trying to get to sleep."

Cellphone records are expected to show Chalmers logged a large number of calls at the time of the shooting and the tower that transmitted his calls is "closest to the intersection of Morningside and Sewells," Levy said.

The trial continues tomorrow.

SAM.PAZZANO@SUNMEDIA.CA