A Port Sorell woman told the Launceston Supreme Court she heard someone screaming for “help” on a night a Victorian man was allegedly being held at gunpoint.
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Robyn Hay was called to the stand on Thursday during a trial into the alleged kidnapping, assault and robbery of Anthony Mekhael by six Tasmanians.
The accused are Caine Robert Richardson, Sean Gregory Richardson, Christopher John Humphreys, Matthew Luke Williams, Malcolm Joshua Mayne and Carly Ann Dekkers.
All six have pleaded not guilty.
Mr Mekhael was allegedly taken at gunpoint and driven to multiple locations in multiple cars across three days – February 11 to February 13, 2015.
It is alleged that on one of those days, Mr Mekhael was taken to Port Sorell where Mr Caine Richardson is accused of firing shots at him and near his head.
Both Mr Caine Richardson and Mr Mayne are also accused of assaulting Mr Mekhael at Port Sorell.
During her evidence, Mrs Hay told the court she woke in the early hours of the morning on February 12, 2015, after hearing “piercing screaming”.
The court heard the screaming “stopped and started”, but she heard the word “help” repeatedly as well as two “bangs”, which she described as “one very loud, sharp bang and then another one”.
“It didn’t sound like firecrackers,” she said.
Mrs Hay told the court she heard three bangs in total and got out of bed to look out the window but did not see anything.
She said police were “everywhere” in her street the following morning.
Defence laywer for Mr Caine Richardson, Evan Hughes, questioned Mrs Hay’s memory of the incident.
Mr Hughes referred to her statements to police the morning after and the court heard she had said “I think” they said the word “help”.
She also could not confirm whether she had heard a man or a woman screaming.
The trial before Justice Robert Pearce is expected to continue on Friday.