Man accused of shooting policeman Luke Warburton at a Sydney hospital faces court
DETAILS of the terrifying 30 minutes when Michael de Guzman held scissors at the throat of a doctor as staff fought to save the life of hero police dog handler Luke Warburton have been revealed for the first time in court.
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A FORMER nurse screamed “the policeman is dead” after shooting hero dog handler Luke Warburton in Nepean Hospital, a court heard today.
The details of those terrifying 30 minutes when Michael de Guzman held scissors at the throat of a doctor as staff fought to save the life of Senior Constable Warburton have been revealed for the first time during de Guzman’s trial in the District Court.
Constable Warburton, whose police dog Chuck tracked down killer Malcolm Naden, got to the hospital within minutes of the first triple-0 call.
He saw de Guzman in bay 12 of the emergency department with his legs wrapped around Dr Ma Guinto and the surgical scissors at her throat.
De Guzman ignored pleas to let the doctor go and said he would kill her if the police came any closer, prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said.
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De Guzman, who had worked as a nurse at Westmead Hospital, is pleading not guilty on the grounds of mental illness.
The prosecution claims he was psychotic because he had been using the drug ice. The trial is being heard by a judge sitting alone.
De Guzman, 42, was at the hospital after running around his local street with a walking stick claiming his wife had been kidnapped by the Russian mafia who were using her as a prostitute.
Mr Tedeschi said Constable Warburton believed de Guzman was going to carry out his threat to kill Dr Guinto and waited for his chance to grab the scissors.
He had unlocked the holster holding his pistol.
As Senior Constable Lisa Myers used her baton to hit de Guzman in the arm, Constable Warburton fired off his capsicum spray and pressed on Dr Guinto’s chest to try and restrain him.
During a “furious melee” as four officers tried to subdue De Guzman, he grabbed Constable Warburton’s gun, raised it about 10cms and shot the officer.
The bullet went through his femoral artery and he would have died had he not been in the emergency department of a major hospital, Mr Tedeschi said.
“He almost died from blood loss,” Mr Tedeschi said.
“He would inevitably have died were it not that this incident occurred in a large public hospital emergency squad.”
The court heard in an agreed statement of facts that de Guzman shouted: “Your friend is dead. The policeman is dead.”
De Guzman fired a second shot which his hospital security guard Barry Jennings in the leg before Senior Constable Timothy Duffy managed to get his finger between the trigger to block any more shots.
Officers managed to prise he gun from de Guzman’s hand as he continued to threaten to kill other officers and tried to bite them as they took him back to Penrith Police Station.
Mr Tedeschi said the onus was on the defence to prove that de Guzman was mentally ill.
De Guzman is facing 11 charges including shooting Constable Warburton with intent to murder. The officer spent five weeks recovering in hospital.
Constable Warburton, whose police dog Chuck has since died, is expected to be the first witness at the District Court at Downing Centre this afternoon.