THE suggestion that the shotgun used to kill David King during an alleged "drug rip gone wrong" at Salt Ash in 2021 was brought to the scene by the 45-year-old ice dealer and not the men accused of robbing and murdering him is "completely unbelievable" and not supported by any of the objective evidence, a jury has been told.
Mr King, a mid-level methamphetamine dealer from Tanilba Bay, was killed when he was shot once at close range in the back of the head with a shortened shotgun while allegedly trying to escape being robbed in Hideaway Drive on August 29, 2021.
Two men, Elijah Cage and Max Lowcock, remain charged with Mr King's murder after Justice Dina Yehia on Monday directed the jury to acquit Tyson Stamp, ruling there was insufficient evidence to establish that he was guilty of murder.
The three men are all still charged with kidnapping the woman who facilitated the drug deal and witnessed Mr King's shooting and their trial in Newcastle Supreme Court is nearing an end after four weeks of evidence.
During his closing address on Monday, Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw took the jury through the overall picture of what happened before, during and after Mr King's shooting and the circumstances the prosecution rely on to prove each accused's guilt.
It is the prosecution case that Mr King was shot by either Mr Cage or Mr Lowcock, who were in the car with him at the time he was gunned down, while Mr Stamp was waiting nearby in a hired Hyundai Santa Fe.
Mr Cage and Mr Lowcock are accused of conspiring to rob Mr King and allegedly used a woman as an intermediary because she had a close friendship with Mr King and could "open the door" and get him to "let his guard down", Mr Shaw said.
But Mr Shaw said the trio did not go to Salt Ash with the intention of shooting Mr King, instead intending to rob him while armed with the shortened shotgun.
The men deny any plot to rob Mr King and say they only went to Salt Ash to buy half an ounce of methamphetamine.
Mr Shaw said in relation to Mr Cage he was recorded having a conversation with a woman, during which he said he planned to rob Mr King.
"Mr Cage had identified Mr King as a potential target for an armed robbery and was looking at that stage for a person to get him access, to have Mr King drop his guard," Mr Shaw said.
Mr Shaw said that Mr Cage had a firearm available to him, had no money and was recorded saying he had "swapped rips", which Mr Shaw said meant they had settled on robbing Mr King.
And despite the woman keeping the identity of Mr King a secret from Mr Cage, Mr Shaw said he must have known who he was going to buy methamphetamine from because when she arrived at the meeting point in Salt Ash the pair were already seated in a vehicle together.
In relation to Mr Lowcock, Mr Shaw said he was either the shooter or had an agreement with Mr Cage to rob Mr King with a loaded firearm before he was shot.
He said Mr Lowcock had made admissions to the shooting in a record phone call, as well as admitting to detaining the woman and "wanting to kill her".
"In for a penny, in for a pound," Mr Lowcock was recorded saying.
The woman had told the jury that the gun belonged to Mr King and he had given it to her to film a video while she waited to buy drugs from him.
"Think about that scenario where David King brought a loaded gun to what was happening," Mr Shaw said. "Wouldn't he have gotten out of his car and told them all to bugger off."
The trial continues.
