The victim of a late night shooting in Canberra's south thought he had scratched his leg on a bush before realising the far more serious reality as he ran away, a jury has heard.
The retrial of accused gunman Christopher Cunningham and his alleged accomplice, Benjamin Moarefi, began in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday after their first trial failed to reach a conclusion.
Mr Cunningham, 34, has pleaded not guilty to charges of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm, committing an act endangering life, and possessing a prohibited firearm.
Mr Moarefi, 29, denies aiding and abetting Mr Cunningham.
In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Marcus Dyason told the jury Mr Cunningham had argued with victim Graham O'Neil over the phone just prior to the shooting.
Mr Dyason said it was not entirely clear who said what in the March 2, 2019 call, but "on one version" Mr O'Neil had threatened to shoot Mr Cunningham in the head.
He told the jury Mr Cunningham subsequently called Mr Moarefi, who drove his partner's car to Freda Gibson Circuit in Theodore with a rifle and a handgun.
Mr Cunningham allegedly collected the rifle from the back seat of the car and fired several bullets towards Mr O'Neil and his friends, who were in the street to see a resident named Alex Dimitrov.
"One of those shots ... struck Graham O'Neil to the back right thigh area," the prosecutor said.
Mr Dyason told the jury Mr Cunningham claimed to have been at home with a friend at the time of the shooting, but this friend was expected to say she did not arrive at his place until hours after the incident.
He said while police were investigating the episode, Mr Cunningham kept "going about his business" and spoke to various former partners.
The prosecutor alleged Mr Cunningham told one of them he needed to say goodbye to their daughter because he had "done something stupid".
The 34-year-old is alleged to have informed another that "the guy I shot threatened to blow my head off first".
Mr Dyason said a third woman was expected to testify that Mr Cunningham told her "I shot Grot".
Giving evidence, Mr O'Neil said "Grot" was his nickname.
He told the court he went to Freda Gibson Circuit on the night in question to talk to Mr Dimitrov, having heard the man was "harassing" a friend of his about a debt.
But Mr O'Neil said Mr Dimitrov refused to talk to him and the next thing he knew, shots were being fired from the front lawn and he ran.
The victim said he felt something wet on his thigh and initially thought he had "scratched me leg on a bush or something".
He started to feel pain, however, and thought "oh shit" as he realised what had happened and continued "running on one leg and hobbling on the other".
The jury on Monday heard many of the Crown's key witnesses, including Mr O'Neil, were "wrapped up in their own criminality and nefarious activities".
Defence barrister Travis Jackson, representing Mr Cunningham, stressed that these people had "their own personal issues" and told jurors to "have a sense of suspicion" about their evidence.
He said, for instance, that there had been "some custody issues" between his client and Mr Cunningham's former partners.
Mr Jackson said it was difficult to know exactly what had happened or why, and "where the evidence will lead you at the end of the day is a verdict of not guilty".
"This is not a case of black and white," he told the jury. "It's very much shades of grey."
Mr Moarefi's barrister, Astrid Haban-Beer, told the jury her client was "innocent" and "a doting father".
She said the credibility and reliability of Mr Dimitrov, a partially blind Crown witness who had identified Mr Cunningham as the gunman, would be a major issue.
The trial continues.
