A MAN shot in the neck, the bullet lodging in his throat, after a brief confrontation outside his home at Waratah West last year has identified the alleged gunman and described his shock and disbelief.
Angus Osborne, 22, has pleaded not guilty to discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a shortened firearm, denying he was the man who shot the 36-year-old in the driveway of his home in Cooksey Close on January 24 last year.
The alleged victim spent part of the last two days giving evidence during Osborne's trial in Newcastle District Court, telling the jury the pair had met only two or three times.
Crown prosecutor Geoff Kidd had told the jury the alleged victim had bought a BMW from Osborne, the purchase triggering some "animosity" between the pair.
The alleged victim gave evidence he had an issue with Osborne going to his house when he wasn't there and had sought him out to discuss it.
He said he was woken about 4am on January 24 by some members of his partner's family returning home with a motorbike on a trailer.
He said they were banging the gate and he went outside to help them open it and remove the bike when he said he noticed Osborne was with them.
"He was sort of pacing," the alleged victim said.
"He had a dark hoodie on ... and a satchel.
"Basically, I told him to keep going, stay off our property.
"Told him to f--- off.
"There was a time and place, but it wasn't there and it wasn't then."
The alleged victim gave evidence that Osborne was "giving it back to me" and the pair exchanged words while he was helping take the motorbike off the trailer.
"He basically said 'do you want to have a go', he was getting frustrated," the alleged victim said.
The alleged victim claimed Osborne had his hands in his satchel bag as he walked towards him, but he told him to wait and walked off down the driveway towards the back of the house.
"I heard footsteps and I turned around to see what it was and all I saw was a flash," the alleged victim told the jury.
"I didn't feel much pain and [my partner] was standing next to Angus screaming at me.
"I wasn't too sure if I got hit with something.
"The only reason I noticed was because I couldn't breathe."
The alleged victim gave evidence he felt a "funny sensation" and realised his chest was wet with blood.
He dropped to one knee in shock and checked where he had been struck.
He said the flash occurred as soon as he turned his head, so he didn't immediately see who shot him.
But he said afterwards he saw Osborne standing there holding a gun with "a look on his face".
He said Osborne ran off and he was driven to the Calvary Mater hospital and then transferred to the John Hunter Hospital, where he underwent surgery to have the bullet removed from his throat.
Mr Kidd told the jury Osborne was arrested the next day after police found him in the back seat of a car at a service station at Wallsend.
Police searched the car and found a Gucci satchel containing a loaded shortened rifle in a seat pocket.
Mr Kidd said the gun was later test-fired and an analysis revealed the ammunition matched a fired cartridge recovered at the scene of the shooting in Waratah West.
He also said DNA testing revealed Osborne could not be excluded as a contributor to a mixed profile recovered from two areas on the firearm, including the grip, and that a DNA profile matching Osborne was found on the trigger.
Osborne's phone was seized and analysed and Mr Kidd said police uncovered images showing the firearm and Gucci satchel bag.
The jury heard there would be no dispute that the 36-year-old man was shot outside his home, but the issue for the jury to determine was whether prosecutors had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the man who pulled the trigger was Osborne.
Under cross-examination from defence barrister George Fren, the alleged victim denied hiding CCTV footage from outside the home from police and rejected claims that it was not Osborne who shot him.
The trial, before Judge Tim Gartelmann, SC, continues.
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