Daniel Bell, accused of shooting a man in butt, awaits his fate as jury retire to consider verdict
In Newcastle District Court on Wednesday, both sides gave their closing statements in the trial of a man who was shot in the buttocks following a Muswellbrook drug buy in 2017.
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The credibility of evidence and the reliability of witnesses were highlighted in the closing statements of the trial where a man was shot in the buttocks following a Muswellbrook drug buy.
Phillip Thomas was “shot in the ringhole”after being told to return to a house on Anzac Pde, where he had earlier purchased ice on April 21, 2017.
Daniel Paul Bell, 40, has pleaded not guilty to shoot with intent to murder and aggravated armed robbery.
In Newcastle District Court on Wednesday, Crown Prosecutor Brian Costello gave his closing statement in the trial and told the jury there were six significant facts to determine that Mr Bell was the shooter.
He detailed that evidence established a connection with the address of the incident, it placed Mr Bell at an address near the shooting and located him in the vicinity; there was direct identification it was Mr Bell; the consideration of phone records and 22 calibre bullets were found in Mr Bell’s car.
“Bell was the man with the rifle and you should find him guilty on all charges,” Mr Costello told the jury.
“It is true there is no forensic evidence linking Bell to the shooting, but if you take a step back and look at the reality… what evidence would you expect to find as Mr Bell didn’t touch Mr Thomas.
“Defence will say he did not nominate Mr Bell immediately as the shooter, but put yourselves in Mr Thomas’ shoes, he was shot and feared for his life and the facts were, he was in and out of consciousness.
“His identification of Mr Bell was not made under ideal circumstances, under dark, under drugs, but it doesn’t make it wrong.”
In his closing statement, defence barrister Michael Coroneos endured to discredit Mr Thomas and said there was a clear issue with his reliability as a witness.
“There are clear inconsistencies with his evidence and he is an unreliable witness,” Mr Coroneos said.
“Too many lies, too many inconsistencies.
“In the witness box he did not come over as a reliable witness, it was argumentative, he was rude and I’ll excuse the fact he swore on a regular basis.”
Mr Coroneos referred to the fact that despite admissions from Mr Thomas that he screamed out to paramedics that it was Daniel Bell straight away, he said police gave evidence they did not hear Mr Thomas say anything to identify the shooter.
The defence barrister also highlighted Mr Thomas’ drug use and that it was quite clear he was high on ice when the incident occurred.
“We are dealing with a person who is an admitted user and supplier,” Mr Coroneos said.
“He gave evidence he did not speak to Daniel Bell at all, but in a statement to police, Mr Thomas had said he had a lengthy conversation with Mr Bell the day before.”
He pointed out alleged inconsistencies in time, identification of the accused and the weapon, and the lack of forensic evidence.
“Mr Thomas said the lighting was sh**house, there was a black figure and a person with a balaclava on his head. He had two to three points of drugs and the lighting was not favourable and just made reference to someone saying, ‘where the f**k is the money’,” Mr Coroneos added.
“I asked him about the gun – that description members of the jury is very important – the crown have placed a lot of weight on rifle.
“He said it was old, it was a rifle and point 22 or something, a slug gun or something like that, that was the description he made, and it is not a conclusive description of a rifle.
“In this trial we have no objective forensic evidence, no fingerprints, no DNA, there is nothing to link him to the crime scene.”
Earlier in the trial, when Mr Thomas was on the stand, he told the court he could identify Mr Bell as the gunman who had approached him outside the Anzac Pde house because he had recognised his “demeanor” and “body language” from a meeting he had with Mr Bell the previous evening.
The jury heard Mr Thomas had told police during an interview in his John Hunter Hospital bed that it was “Danny Bell” who shot him because he had a conversation with him the previous night when he had attempted to buy drugs on credit.
Mr Thomas’s partner Kaysie Eveleigh also told the jury of a conversation she had with Mr Thomas in hospital where he had identified Mr Bell as the shooter, but agreed she had failed to tell detectives about the positive identification.
The verdict awaits as the jury continue their deliberations.