A man who went to investigate a noise outside his home was confronted by a gunman armed with a shortened rifle and shot in the neck, a jury has heard.
Angus Osborne, now 22, on Monday pleaded not guilty to discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a shortened firearm and faced the first day of a trial in Newcastle District Court.
During his opening address, Crown prosecutor Geoff Kidd told the jury the alleged victim, 36, knew Osborne and recognised him outside his home in Cooksey Close, Waratah West, in the early hours of January 24 last year.
"The reason he knew him was because he purchased a vehicle from him," Mr Kidd said.
"I expect he will tell you there was at least some level of animosity between them, certainly from his point of view towards the accused about that car."
Mr Kidd said the alleged victim and the gunman exchanged words on the driveway before there was a flash and a loud bang.
The alleged victim fell to the ground and was driven to the nearby Calvary Mater hospital with a bullet lodged in his neck.
The gunman fled the scene on foot.
Mr Kidd said Osborne was arrested the day after the shooting 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 bag 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.
Mr Kidd said the firearm possession charge depended on the same issue.
"Was it the accused who pulled the trigger and was it the accused who was in possession of the firearm at the time it was located and seized by police," he said.
The trial, before Judge Tim Gartelmann, SC, continues.
.png?w=600)
