HOMICIDE Squad detectives have arrested a man and woman and charged them with assisting alleged killer Michael Rae in the aftermath of a shooting at a Cooks Hill unit block in July.
Teegan Bain, 38, and Aston Ryan Chambers, 19, were arrested at a house in New Lambton early on Friday, four months after Wesley Prentice was gunned down inside a unit in Darby Street.
Ms Bain was charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, while Mr Chambers was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence.
Investigators say several items relevant to the investigation were seized and will undergo forensic testing. The Newcastle Herald revealed in August that detectives investigating the murder of Mr Prentice allege they can link Mr Rae to the shooting through DNA and CCTV footage. Mr Prentice, a 40-year-old from Rutherford known as "Wes" who was couch surfing in the unit block, was shot once in the chest at close range and a man and woman were shortly after seen running to a nearby motor vehicle, police have said.
Detectives allege that Mr Rae and Mr Prentice both attended the unit in Darby Street on July 22 and were allegedly involved in an altercation about 12.45pm before Mr Prentice was shot. He died at the scene.
Police allege Mr Rae and a woman ran to a blue four-wheel drive and, after collecting a significant amount of CCTV footage, police say they were able to track that vehicle to a home at Windale.
Crime scene officers also allegedly located DNA inside and outside of the unit that police say links Mr Rae to the shooting.
Mr Rae, 35, of Woodrising, was arrested at Bonny Hills, a coastal town about 20 kilometres south of Port Macquarie, on August 1.
Neither Ms Bain nor Mr Chambers entered a plea in Newcastle Local Court on Friday. Both applied for bail, but only Mr Chambers was granted conditional bail, with Magistrate Janine Lacy finding there were too many unacceptable risks to release Ms Bain.
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