Aggravated armed robbery and grievous bodily harm

Our client and two other Pilbara men were charged with entering a home and demanding payment of a debt. It was alleged thousands of dollars in cash was stolen from a man and his partner. The man was then allegedly assaulted. Weapons were involved. During a 7-day trial the jury heard from the victim and his girlfriend who both testified that our client, who was known to each of them, was one of the assailants involved in the assault and also a party to the robbery. During cross examination we presented CCTV footage from our client’s home proving the female partner of the victim had attended our client’s home and stayed overnight with him in the days following the assault. At the same time her partner, the victim, was undergoing emergency surgery in a Perth hospital. Further cross examination raised considerable doubt on the veracity of her testimony that our client was in any way involved in the vicious assault on her partner. It also raised questions about the ability of the victim to positively identify our client as being involved. The jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes before returning verdicts of not guilty on all charges in respect of our client and both co-accused.