Attempted murder charges against Toowoomba man dropped

The 34-year-old has been committed to stand trial on charges arrising from the alleged firing of a shortened firearm inside the pub during a scuffle with police.

Police at the scene of the incident at the Gowrie Road Hotel. Friday, 17th May, 2019.

A 34-YEAR-OLD man accused of firing a gun during a scuffle with police at a Toowoomba pub has had two charges of attempted murder dropped by a city court.

However, Jamie Ross Cook remained on 11 charges arising from the alleged incident at the Gowrie Road Hotel in Bridge St, Newtown, on May 17 last year.

Police claim Cook fired a shortened firearm during a scuffle with two police officers who went to arrest him on an outstanding arrest warrant inside the hotel.

He is also accused of pulled a knife on police and a customer in the hotel’s gaming room when he momentarily broke free of the officers struggling to arrest him.

Neither police officer or any hotel patron or staff sustained injuries though Cook had been taken to hospital for treatment to a broken arm sustained during the struggle.

Cook appeared before Toowoomba Magistrates Court yesterday by video link to the watch house for a full hand-up committal on those charges and other unrelated matters.

His solicitor Lewis Hunter, appearing by phone from his Brisbane office, told the court it was conceded there was a prima facie case against his client and he consented to the matters going up before the District Court.

During the hand-up committal hearing, police prosecutor Sergeant Tim Hutton tended 27 witness statements, mostly from police officers, and 29 exhibits including police bodycam footage, photographs and computer discs.

At the start of the hearing, Sgt Hutton told the court police would offer no evidence on the two charges of attempted murder and both charges were struck out by Magistrate Howard Osborne.

Cook has not as yet been required to enter pleas to the charges which include possessing a shortened Category A bolt action rifle, dangerous conduct with a weapon, carrying a loaded weapon in a public place, obstructing police and attempting to strike a person with a knife arising from the Gowrie Road Hotel incident as well as to a series of non related charges.

Asked by Magistrate Osborne if he had anything to say or wanted to enter any plea, Cook replied: “Not at this point in time, no”.

Magistrate Osborne formally charged Cook and committed him to stand trial in the Toowoomba District Court at a date to be set by the Director of the Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions.

There being no application for bail, Cook was remanded in custody.