A man accused of attempted murder in a Pioneer City shooting was acquitted yesterday after the victim failed to appear in court and two witnesses were unable to identify him as the gunman.

Winning the acquittal from Circuit Court Judge Ronald A. Silkworth was Terrell T. Bush, 21, who was accused of shooting Marcellis L. Anderson in May on Arwell Court -- Anne Arundel County's most dangerous street. The shooting was spotlighted in a Sun series in September on the troubled Pioneer City neighborhood.

One witness -- who testified only after she was threatened with jail time if she did not appear -- said she did not see the man who shot Anderson in court.

Another witness pointed to another man sitting in the courtroom as the possible gunman.

"No witnesses for the state had ever identified my client pretrial as the perpetrator of this offense," said Bush's attorney, assistant public defender William M. Davis.

But Assistant State's Attorney Thomas J. Fleckenstein said the two women previously identified Bush to police as the shooter, as did Anderson, and that others are suspected of advising potential witnesses for the prosecution not to testify.

Police thought the shooting of Anderson resulted from an argument between him and Bush that involved Bush's girlfriend.

Bush, 21, of no fixed address, was charged with attempted murder and six related counts in the shooting of Anderson, 21, a Baltimore Highlands resident.

In 1994, at age 16, Anderson pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in the shooting of Richard P. Sigley, 31, during what police described at the time as a drug deal gone awry.

There is an outstanding warrant for Anderson on a felony drug charge.