Mick Denigan was acting ‘reasonably’ when he shot an intruder in the leg, Supreme Court told

WHIP maker Mick Denigan acted reasonably and out of instinct when he shot a man in the leg who had come onto his property late at night carrying an axe, his barrister has told the Supreme Court

Legendary Darwin whip maker Mick Denigan

WHIP maker Mick Denigan acted reasonably and out of instinct when he shot a man in the leg who had come onto his property late at night carrying an axe, his barrister has told the Supreme Court.

In his closing address, Denigan’s barrister Jon Tippett QC told the jury they should conclude intruder Thomas McIntyre was at his client’s property for a confrontation, not a “quite conversation” as he had claimed.

“Do you go to a person’s home at 11.45pm at night, drive 20 minutes through the night to have a quiet conversation?” Mr Tippett said.

“Or would you, if indeed you intended to have a quiet conversation, wait until the next morning?”

“Mr McIntyre is a liar and you know he is.”

Mick Dennigan of Micks Whips

Denigan has pleaded not guilty to a single count of unlawfully causing serious harm, claiming he was lawfully defending himself when he shot Mr McIntyre on the night on February 18 last year.

Gesticulating wildly with the axe in his hand at the bar table, Mr Tippett said it was a “frightful weapon” that could cause serious injury or death.

“We talk about axe murderers — not just murders — axe murders,” he said.

He said Denigan was just over two metres away from Mr McIntyre when he pulled the trigger.

“What sort of time have you got to think about that?” he said.

“This person is a bezerker, 6ft 2in, 100kg, axe in hand.”

He said Denigan was “a man alone in the middle of the night, being confronted by three people in a vehicle, armed”.

Mick Denigan (centre) arrives at the Supreme Court with lawyers Peter Maley and Jon Tippett, QC

He said the jurors needed to think carefully about Denigan’s state of mind on the night.

“We were not in the dark, in the rain, facing people who are coming to us alone,” he said.

Denigan’s position is that he acted in self-defence.

Mr Tippett said if Denigan had hesitated, “the axe has hit you and you’re either injured or dead”.

He said Crown Prosecutor John Ibbotson’s suggestion Denigan ambushed the men was “just bloody rubbish”.

Mr Ibbotson said: “There are really two different versions of the same event, a bit like chalk and cheese”.

“Where the disputed issues lie is in relation to (Denigan’s) intention and whether he was acting in self defence.

“Which one is not telling you the truth?”

He said the three men who showed up to Denigan’s property weren’t doing anything untoward.

“Did they take anything to disguise themselves? Balaclavas, gloves? No.”

Justice Anthony Graham is expected to send the jury out to deliberate on Thursday.