Accused Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann to plead not guilty

‘It will be a trial, he is pleading not guilty.’

Alleged Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann, 45, will plead not guilty to murder, a court has heard.

ACCUSED Darwin gunman Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann will plead not guilty to murder and expects to face trial in the Supreme Court, a court has heard.

Hoffmann appeared in the Darwin Local Court via video link on Wednesday morning where his lawyer, Peter Maley, told the court his client would be contesting the charges.

Mr Maley said a large portion of the brief of evidence had only just been delivered to his office in the past few days and Hoffmann’s legal team was still waiting on material “crucial to Mr Hoffmann’s case” that would “go to the heart of what is disputed”.

“It will be a trial, he is pleading not guilty,” he said.

Hoffmann is facing a string of charges relating to the alleged June 4 rampage, including four counts of murder.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Matt Nathan, told the court police had made “significant inroads” into the investigation and collected “a huge volume of material” since Hoffmann’s arrest in June.

But in requesting a further adjournment, Mr Nathan said there was a significant amount of material still outstanding, including hundreds of hours of police body worn camera and CCTV footage from around Darwin.

“Perhaps most significant,” Mr Nathan said, was a quantity of medical records from psychologists and psychiatrists who saw Hoffmann both shortly after his arrest and more recently.

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In adjourning the matter until December, judge John Neill flagged a lengthy legal process before the case could be set down for trial in the Supreme Court.

“This is a case which is notorious, everyone’s aware of what’s alleged,” he said.

“This is going to be a huge matter at the committal stage.”

Hoffmann, who sat emotionless and mute during the brief hearing, was remanded in custody to reappear for a further mention on December 11.