Man charged over Holmview house shooting walks from court on bail
A magistrate has released a man accused of a drive-by shooting on bail, ruling the case against him was ‘very thin’ despite his criminal history.
A Gold Coast formworker has faced court on weapon and drug charges after a Logan home was allegedly peppered with bullets.
Steven Craig Francis, 40, appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday after the incident at the Holmview residence early on Wednesday.
Police alleged a carload of men fired four shots at the home where a 41-year-old man lived. He was not injured.
A heavily-tattooed Francis appeared in the dock charged with eight offences including unlawful possession of a pistol and dangerous conduct with a weapon.
Defence solicitor Farshad Sarabi, of Hannay Lawyers, told the court there was little evidence tying his client to the alleged crimes, including no weapon, fingerprints or DNA. He questioned the reliability of cell tower evidence allegedly placing Mr Francis at the scene.
He said Mr Francis had recently had a baby with his partner and the child was “quite ill”.
Mr Sarabi said his client was willing to wear an electronic monitoring device, abide by a curfew and report to police three times a week.
Magistrate Louisa Pink said it was alleged that Mr Francis was one of three men who attended the home in a car from which four shots were fired, breaking a window.
She said while he had allegedly admitted to being at the scene, he denied discharging the gun and the allegations against him were “very thin”.
Ms Pink said that “significantly”, the person alleged to have fired the shots was said to have been wearing different clothing and Mr Francis “does not seem to be the principal offender”.
The magistrate said Mr Francis had a “concerning” criminal history in Queensland and NSW, including having served jail time for weapons possession.
But she said the case against him was not strong and released him on bail, with conditions including a 9pm-5am curfew, a ban from going within 100m of the Holmview residence and police reporting requirements.
Ms Pink said an electronic monitoring device was not justified and ordered Mr Francis to reappear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court later this month.
Originally published as Man charged over Holmview house shooting walks from court on bail
