NCA bombing trial: Lawyers for Domenic Perre claim key witness Allan Chamberlain threatened to blow up neighbours ‘without being anywhere in sight’
Lawyers for alleged NCA bomber Domenic Perre have told a court that a key witness threatened to “blow away” his neighbours “without being in sight”.
Police & Courts
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A key prosecution witness in the NCA bombing trial threatened a neighbour, warning he could “blow you away” without being “anywhere in sight”, a court has heard.
The Supreme Court has also heard a gun shop central to the case was under NCA investigation for converting firearms from semiautomatic to fully automatic.
This week, counsel for alleged bomber Domenic Perre cross-examined several witnesses about former gunsmith Allan “Gadget” Chamberlain, who will give evidence later in the trial.
Gilbert Aitken, for Perre, asked Mr Chamberlain’s former neighbour about a conversation that occurred after she helped “Gadget’s” wife move out of his home.
“There was a time that he threatened you, saying ‘if you ever go near my wife or move her again, I’m going to blow you away’,” he suggested.
“He said ‘I don’t have to be anywhere in sight to do that’.”
The woman said she “did not remember that bit” and “did not recall” the alleged incident.
Perre, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen and attempting to murder lawyer Peter Wallis in March 1994.
Prosecutors allege that, motivated by “festering hatred”, Perre built and sent a parcel bomb to the NCA’s Adelaide office.
They allege almost three decades worth of police investigations prove Perre’s guilt.
Perre’s counsel, however, say the case is based on “folklore” not forensics, as no evidence linked to the bomb was found in their client’s home.
Previously, the court has heard police found a “Pandora’s box” of firearms, detonators and murderous instruction manuals in a hidden room beneath Chamberlain’s shed.
Prosecutors allege that material belonged to Perre, not Chamberlain, and claim he agreed to store it on his friend’s behalf to evade discovery by police.
Under cross-examination, two former NCA investigators discussed “Operation Panza”, which commenced either shortly before or shortly after the bombing.
Mr Aitken suggested Chamberlain worked as a gunsmith for a shop suspected of “rebirthing firearms, changing them from legal to illegal”.
He suggested that business was a target of a joint NCA/SA Police investigation into “crooked gun shops” that upgraded firearms “from semiautomatic to fully automatic”.
Former NCA regional operations manager Paul Foley, who is now a sitting SA magistrate, said he was “aware there was an interest in firearms” around that time.
He said Chamberlain’s name had been mentioned but “not as a suspect”.
Former NCA deputy director of investigations John Ganley said he “had no memory” of Chamberlain as a suspect but “was familiar with the name Gadget”.
The trial, before Justice Kevin Nicholson, continues.