Ex-Bandido Jacques Teamo ‘brought knife to gun fight’ in which he was shot by Mark James Graham

UPDATE: Former Bandido Jacques Teamo was the ‘aggressor’ when Mark James Graham fired a gun at a Gold Coast shopping centre in an “act of survival”, a jury has been told.

Robina shooting ‘an act of survival’: court

FORMER Bandido Jacques Teamo was the “provocateur and aggressor” when Mark James Graham fired a gun at a crowded Gold Coast shopping centre in an “act of survival”, a jury has been told.

Graham, 28, has pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court at Brisbane to the attempted murder of Mr Teamo and for causing grievous bodily harm to shopper Kathy Devitt when he opened fire at the crowded Robina Town Centre at 1.46pm on April 28, 2012.

Graham, who was described during the trial by Mr Teamo’s young son as looking “like a bikie”, pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a handgun.

Barrister David Edwardson QC, for the accused, told the jury in his closing argument the prosecution failed to exclude the possibility Graham’s gun fired in “self-defence”.

He said his client was “entitled to use force, even extreme force” in the face of threats and a flick-knife wielded by Mr Teamo.

Mr Edwardson said the jury heard in evidence from Mr Teamo’s son that his father told him “I’m going to stab that guy” before the confrontation.

“The incident involves a split-second response to an exposed flick-knife, leaving little or no time for anything other than an instinctive act of survival,” he said.

He said there were no words from his client that expressed his intention, let alone to kill.

“Lets be frank: If Mark Graham had not been armed, he could have died from fatal stab wounds because there can be no doubt that Teamo intended to stab him with a seriously dangerous knife,” Mr Edwardson said.

He said the prosecution case was thus “defective”.

“If you have a doubt about the state of mind of the accused, the law demands that you give him the benefit of that doubt, and he should be acquitted,” he said.

Mr Edwardson said an unintended consequence of the confrontation was the shooting of “innocent bystander” Ms Devitt.

“She was collateral damage from the defensive actions of a man who probably saw his own life flashing before his eyes,” Mr Edwardson said.

Mr Edwardson said it would be wrong for the jury to reason that because Ms Devitt was injured, his client should be found guilty.

“If you do apply the law correctly, then ladies and gentlemen the only verdict in this case, no matter how appalling their conduct might have been, can be of not guilty,” he said.

Earlier, Crown prosecutor Michael Byrne QC commenced his closing address to the jury.

He said Graham was seen on CCTV within the shopping centre to fire twice at Mr Teamo at “point-blank” range.

Mr Byrne told the jury it should accept that the first shot fired struck Mr Teamo while the second shot hit Ms Devitt.

He negated any likelihood Graham was acting in self-defence at the time.

Mr Byrne said both men behaved as badly as one another and until the gun was drawn, the fight between them was consensual.

“When the gun came out the defendant was the aggressor,” he said.

He said Graham used more force than was reasonably necessary to protect himself from Mr Teamo, who the trial was told armed himself with a flick-knife.

Mr Byrne said there was a lack of direct evidence as to what Graham’s state of mind was when he fired the shots and if he feared for his own safety.

He urged the jury to draw an inference that would not be favourable to the accused.

Mr Byrne said he wasn’t in the court to defend the actions of Mr Teamo, adding the alleged victim’s conduct was “appalling” and the jury might think he was “an unpleasant man”.

But he said Mr Teamo was not the one on trial.

“You are not here to consider whether he has committed any criminal offences and much less are you here to consider whether you want to live next door to him,” he said.

“Mr Teamo, you can see, turned up to a gun fight with a knife,” Mr Byrne said.

He told the jury Mr Teamo had not co-operated with police and had been a “hindrance” to the running of the trial.

Mr Byrne said Graham’s decision to deliberately fire a gun in a shopping centre were “highly negligent”.

He urged the jury not to speculate or be distracted by “extraneous considerations” when considering its verdict.

Justice Alan Wilson will commence summing up the trial to the jury this afternoon before it retires to consider a verdict.

Earlier it was reporteed: EX-BANDIDO Jacques Teamo “brought a knife to a gun fight” moments before he and a bystander were shot down at a busy Gold Coast shopping centre.

Mark James Graham, 28, has pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court at Brisbane to the attempted murder of Mr Teamo and for causing grievous bodily harm to shopper Kathy Devitt when he opened fire at the crowded Robina Town Centre at 1.46pm on April 28, 2012.

Graham, who was described during the trial by Mr Teamo’s young son as looking “like a bikie”, pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a handgun.

Crown prosecutor Michael Byrne QC commenced his closing address to the jury this morning.

He said Graham was seen on CCTV within the shopping centre to fire twice at Mr Teamo at “point-blank” range.

Mr Byrne told the jury it should accept that the first shot fired struck Mr Teamo while the second shot hit Ms Devitt.

He negated any likelihood Graham was acting in self-defence.

Mr Byrne said both men behaved as badly as one another and until the gun was drawn, the fight between them was consensual.

“When the gun came out the defendant was the aggressor,” he said.

He said Graham used more force than was reasonably necessary to protect himself from Mr Teamo, who the trial was told armed himself with a flick-knife.

Mr Byrne said there was a lack of direct evidence as to what Graham’s state of mind was when he fired the shots and if he feared for his own safety.

He urged the jury to draw an inference that would not be favourable to the accused.

Mr Byrne said he wasn’t in the court to defend the actions of Mr Teamo, adding the alleged victim’s conduct was “appalling” and the jury might think he was “an unpleasant man”.

But he said Mr Teamo was not the one on trial.

“You are not here to consider whether he has committed any criminal offences and much less are you here to consider whether you want to live next door to him,” he said.

“Mr Teamo, you can see, turned up to a gun fight with a knife,” Mr Byrne said.

He told the jury Mr Teamo had not co-operated with police and had been a “hindrance” to the running of the trial.

Mr Byrne said Graham’s decision to deliberately fire a gun in a shopping centre were “highly negligent”.

He urged the jury not to speculate or be distracted by “extraneous considerations” when considering its verdict.

Top silk David Edwardson QC, for Graham, will commence his closing argument shortly.

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