A cannabis user was hit repeatedly with a machete and threatened with a handgun after being accused of stealing £12,000 from a crack den, a court heard.
Shae Reffel, 22, suspected Wayne Agius, 33, had stolen the money and lured him and an unnamed friend to the house in the Ely area of Cardiff where he was attacked.
The trial at Cardiff Crown Court, which was one of the first in England and Wales to get under way, was being heard across two court rooms.
The trial judge, Mrs Justice McGowan, counsel, jury and defendant were in one court, while solicitors and members of the press and public watched on a television link from an adjacent court room.
The incident happened on December 9 last year because Reffel suspected Mr Agius had stolen the cash the previous day when he had gone to the house to buy cannabis, the court heard.
Reffel demanded the father-of-five hand over the money and he was then struck six or seven times to the face with the blunt side of a 3ft-long machete before being threatened with a kneecapping.
James Evans, prosecuting, told the jury that he was first punched and kicked in the hallway of the house before going through to the kitchen where the main assault allegedly occurred.
"He was struck to the face with the blunt side of the machete and he suffered several fractures of his facial bones," Mr Evans said.
"It is then the defendant produced from his waistband a pistol. The defendant threatened to kneecap Mr Agius and pointed the gun at his feet and tried to put the muzzle of the gun into his mouth."
The attack ended when Mr Agius's cousin spotted his car parked outside the property in Illtyd Road and knocked on the front door, spooking Reffel who fled via the rear of the house.
Mr Agius, who knew Reffel, then left and drove home where he spoke to his wife who called the police.
The jury was told that Reffel was "involved in the drugs world" and was connected to the crack house.
"The defendant will put forward an alibi that he was not in the house and to convict him you will have to be sure that he was in the house," Mr Evans said.
He told the police that "witnesses must be mistaken" and said at the time of the incident he was alone at his girlfriend's waiting for an ex-partner to visit with his child.
Reffel, of Illtyd Road, Ely, Cardiff denies charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, an alternative of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
The trial continues.
