Noah Albert pleads not guilty to murder of Omar Elomar, 18, in Sydney’s southwest

A teenager claims he didn’t know a gun was present at a fatal meeting in Sydney last year. Police told a court he was the man who pulled the trigger.

A teenager denies firing the shot that killed 18-year-old Omar Elomar in Sydney’s southwest last year, claiming he had no knowledge a gun was even present at a deadly meeting, a court has been told.

Mr Elomar was shot once in the chest as he sat in the driver’s seat of a car in Miller, near Liverpool, when he arrived at a meeting between two groups on February 15, 2020.

Omar Elomar was shot dead on February 15, 2020.

Days later Strike Force Cero officers arrested Noah Albert, 18, in Cartwright and charged him with concealing an indictable offence.

He was soon arrested for a second time, and police upgraded his charge to murder.

Mr Albert, now 19, appeared before the Supreme Court on Friday. He entered a plea of not guilty almost a year since his arrest.

The Campbelltown man will stand trial later this year and denies allegations that he knew another man arrived armed at the prearranged meeting with Mr Elomar on Cabramatta Avenue.

Noah Albert has pleaded not guilty to murder.

He was charged in February 2020.

The court was told the expected four-week trial would hinge on whether Mr Albert could have formed an intention to be part of the murder if he had not known about the gun’s presence.

Justice Robert Hulme told the court the Crown case was that Mr Albert allegedly “made admissions” that he himself was the shooter.

“It seems to be alleged that Albert had the gun, fired the fatal shot and later admitted to killing Omar,” Justice Hulme said.

Omar Elomar’s family said he wanted to become a lawyer.

Mr Elomar, who had no criminal history, was a relative of infamous Australian Islamic State fighter Mohamed Elomar, who was killed in the Middle East.

Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said last year Omar Elomar died almost instantly.

Mr Albert is set to stand trial in the Supreme Court on October 25.

Originally published as Noah Albert pleads not guilty to murder of Omar Elomar, 18, in Sydney’s southwest