Acquitted: Christopher Oakley not guilty of holding a man hostage, shooting him

A Marshall man, accused of holding another man hostage on a toilet seat before shooting him, has been acquitted.

Marshall man Christopher Oakley is facing trial at the Geelong County Court for allegedly shooting a man in the leg. Picture: Facebook

The jury found Christopher Oakley not guilty on all charges on Monday, June 25. 

Earlier: A Marshall man allegedly held another man hostage on a toilet seat and shot him.

Christopher Oakley appeared in the dock of the County Court at Geelong on Friday facing trial charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, and being a prohibited person using a firearm.

Crown prosecutor Richard Pirrie told the jury that Mr Oakley, 28, shot the alleged victim on June 11, 2022.

The court heard that the alleged victim was a friend of Gavin Charles, but the pair

had ongoing animosity over family issues.

The court heard that on June 10 2022, the alleged victim, Mr Charles and associates were partying at a premises next door to Mr Oakley’s.

The following morning, on June 11, the court heard that Mr Charles and his brother were at Mr Oakley’s unit, and the alleged victim went there too.

The jury was told that Mr Oakley and Mr Charles ran upstairs.

The alleged victim, who did not know Mr Oakley, followed shortly after.

However, when he walked upstairs, he found himself in a peculiar position.

“He was told to sit on a toilet because the accused, Christopher Oakley, was holding a .22 rifle,” Mr Pirrie said.

Mr Pirrie stated that Mr Oakley held a gun to the alleged victim’s head and demanded his phone, car keys, and wallet.

Mr Oakley and Mr Charles had both been holding the gun, Mr Pirrie said.

The jury was told that Mr Oakley was holding the gun and told the alleged victim to get out of his house before allegedly shooting him in the leg as he was going down the stairs.

The court heard that the alleged victim was pretty sure Mr Oakley was holding the rifle when he left the toilet and that he was standing about one metre away from him when he was shot.

Mr Oakley’s defence counsel, Liliana Dubroja, said the trial was about determining who shot the alleged victim and why.

“This trial is about who pulled the trigger,” Ms Dubroja said.

She said the trial would come down to the evidence of the alleged victim and Mr Oakley’s girlfriend, who the prosecution says witnessed Mr Oakley pointing a gun in the direction of the toilet when she heard the gun fire.

“It is in dispute that Mr Oakley was the one who pulled the trigger,” Ms Dubroja said.

“The second issue is whether Mr Oakley was involved in the armed robbery of the alleged victim’s phone.”

The defence argues that Mr Charles took the phone from the alleged victim without any involvement from Mr Oakley.

She also asked the jury to consider who directed the alleged victim to sit on the toilet, who was holding the gun, and who kept him there when he tried to leave.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Acquitted: Christopher Oakley not guilty of holding a man hostage, shooting him