Ashley John Raymond Rose has burglary while armed and threatening violence with company at night charge dropped at trial

The trial of a man accused of burglary while armed and threatening violence with company at night was cut short, and the charges withdrawn, after the prosecution’s witness felt unable to continue to testify. Here’s what happened.

A Dalby man has his charges downgraded to possession of a firearm after the alleged victim and witness could no longer testify.

The trial of a man accused of pointing a gun at his cousin during a burglary has been discontinued on day two after the prosecution said their key witness was unable to continue to testify due to it being an “unacceptable risk to their mental health”.

In Dalby District Court on Tuesday Ashley John Raymond Rose pleaded not guilty to burglary while armed and threatening violence with company at night.

The Crown alleged that on September 24, 2023 Mr Rose entered the home of his cousin Tiffany Laurie and pointed a firearm at her, demanding her brother come over and return his tools.

In her statement to the court Ms Laurie said she had gone to bed at 10pm when she was woken by the sound of her dogs barking in the backyard.

She said she then heard two voices, those of the accused and his 17-year-old son with the accused telling her dogs to “shut the f--k up” and his son saying “look dad there’s a window open”.

She then alleged that she heard rustling and a thump before she got up and locked her bedroom door before hopping back into bed with her sleeping two-year-old daughter.

Ms Laurie said she closed her eyes and the next thing she saw was the accused pointing a gun at her and demanding she call her brother “before someone gets shot”.

She then told the court she had walked to the kitchen to get Mr Rose away from her daughter and called her brother at gunpoint.

The Crown told the court it was alleged that after receiving the call from his sister, Ms Laurie’s brother was “driving erratically” while on his way to her house and as a result was chased by police, who followed him to the home with the lights and sirens, scaring the defendant who fled out the back door.

Before Mr Rose left the Crown alleged he stored the firearm in his son’s bag on a couch which police promptly found.

After Ms Laurie had made her account of the events she was then subject to cross-examination by the defence barrister Frank Martin, who alleged she never had a gun pointed at her and the accused had simply come over to pick up his tools and clothes he had left there from the week prior.

Throughout the examination Ms Laurie became visibly distressed raising her voice and crying.

The defence then played a seven minute phone recording between Ms Laurie and Mr Rose taken by police where Ms Laurie can be heard begging the defendant to turn himself in and take responsibility for the firearm which was found in her home.

The defendant could be heard saying “just tell them the gun is mine” and saying he had fled Dalby for Toowoomba.

While the audio played Ms Laurie was seen sobbing over AVL and the court was adjourned to allow the defence to talk to her.

The defence returned sometime later and said they had offered to move the trial to another day for the alleged victim but she could not be consoled so they were forced to discontinue the trial.

The prosecution and the defence agreed to drop the initial charge and charge Mr Rose with the lesser offence of possessing a category H firearm which he pleaded guilty to.

He was sentenced to 517 days imprisonment, which he had already served in pre-sentence custody.