The victim of an alleged murder attempt has backflipped on a claim he saw the man charged with shooting him pull the trigger, now saying he does not remember seeing the accused's face.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The man continued giving evidence in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday, which was the third day of alleged gunman Sugimatatihuna Bernard Gabriel Mena's trial.
Mena, 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, an alternative allegation of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm, discharging a firearm in an act endangering life, and aggravated burglary.
Co-accused Bradley Joe Roberts, 24, and Rebecca Dulcie Parlov, 25, are charged only with aggravated burglary, which they deny.
A jury of 14 has heard there is no dispute that the victim sustained gunshot wounds to the face, forearm and stomach during a March 2021 incident at a house in Spence.
Defence counsel have said the key issues in the trial are the identities of those involved.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
When the victim was cross-examined by Mena's barrister, James Sabharwal, on Wednesday, he was adamant about the alleged gunman's identity.
"I seen him do it," the man said.
"I seen 'Sugi'. I know 'Sugi'."
The victim later said he had seen Mena out and about between six and 12 times prior to the shooting, describing the alleged gunman as "arrogant".
When Mr Sabharwal's cross-examination continued on Thursday, the victim said his mind sometimes played tricks on him and he could not remember "fine details" of the early morning on which the shooting occurred.
"I don't remember his face," the victim said of Mena.
Later on Thursday, Parlov's barrister, Keegan Lee, suggested to the victim that his client had not been at the scene when the shooting occurred.
"Wasn't she?" the victim asked in response.
Mr Lee also suggested to the man that he had "been told things by other people" and that he had "just adopted that" as his evidence.
The barrister said the victim seemed to have "made a lot of assumptions".
The victim, who said he had experienced problems with his memory since childhood, replied: "Yeah, why not? My bad. I'm sorry."
Jurors were given "an early mark" on Thursday by Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson, who told them "unforeseen reasons" had prevented further evidence being taken during the court's afternoon session.
The trial continues on Friday.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
