Man accused of shooting police officer needs to be ‘fresh’ for trial, bail hearing told
A man charged with the attempted murder of a Sydney police officer, pictured, has been denied bail after arguing he needed to have “the ability to wake up fresh” on each morning of his trial.
NSW
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A man charged with the attempted murder of a Sydney police officer while allegedly high on ice has argued he should be granted bail so he has “the ability to wake up fresh” on each morning of his trial.
Former nurse Michael de Guzman remains in custody after he allegedly shot NSW Police dog handler Luke Warburton in the calf during a struggle in the wards of Nepean Hospital in January 2016,
Senior Constable Warburton, who was involved in the arrest of one of Australia’s most notorious fugitives Malcolm Naden, was in a serious condition at the time but survived.
Security guard Barry Jennings was also shot after coming to the aid of a female employee who had allegedly been taken hostage by De Guzman.
Today De Guzman’s lawyer told the NSW District Court his client should be on bail because of the length of time he had been in jail and also because he needed to be “fresh” and “sharp” when he faced a trial before a jury later this year.
Lawyer Eidan Havas said his client would be bundled into a prison van at 5am each day of the trial and said “he will not be as sharp as we require him to be”.
But the prosecutor argued his release should not be granted and outlined how the Filipino-born father-of-two had fired off two shots before “muttering further threats”.
Mr Havas said the crown case relied on three or four statements from witnesses who might not end up giving evidence in court.
“There is no CCTV, there is no direct evidence. Your honour must be guarded in forming a decision on the strength of Crown case,” Mr Havas said.
“This is a very, very sad case, it’s a man who has come before the courts as nurse … who has found himself in a himself in a very precarious situation and will have his day in court.”
Judge Helen Syme refused bail adding she thought the bail application was “extraordinary” as there was not one ounce of evidence presented.
“This (bail application) has proceeded with absolutely no evidence filed on behalf of the accused and that is an unusual situation,” Judge Syme said in her reasons for refusing bail.
Judge Syme said she was concerned the bail condition which stipulated the accused not to consume alcohol or drugs would not be of benefit as police had alleged De Guzman was on ice at the time he shot Senior Constable Warburton.
Judge Syme: “According to the crown case statement the use of the drug methamphetamine was a feature of the commission of these offences according to conversations your client had with police.”
Mr Havas: “[There is] a condition that he not consume any drug or alcohol.”
Judge Syme: “Unless I’m mistaken consuming methamphetamine was against the law anyway.”
She added: “The allegation is that your client was using this drug according to at least some of the statements he made to police, quite a lot. The event occurred in that context. I am just wondering how a bail condition that he not consume an illicit drug is going to help.”
After this exchange Mr Havas said his client had refrained from taking drugs since his incarceration.
“There are more drugs in jail than out of jail … if my client wanted to do drugs my client could easily find them,” he said.
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De Guzman is charged with a total of 14 offences including shooting with intent to murder.
Mr Havas said his client had no criminal history, no criminal associations and would never flee the country because he had a responsibility to his wife and two young children — aged two and six.
De Guzman wore a prison issued green T-shirt and thin black-rimmed glasses as he listened intently to his lawyer outline his personal history of migrating to Australia at aged 11 before attending a Dulwich Hill primary school.
After graduating from Mount Druitt TAFE he went on to work as a nurse at a Pendle Hill nursing home and worked at a Westmead aged care and disability centre for 10 years.