An alleged relationship breakdown between two friends led to gunshots being fired in a suburban street, a jury has heard.
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Andrew Rex Gleeson, of Mayfield, has pleaded not guilty to recklessly discharging a firearm in January 2017.
Defence lawyer Patrick O’Halloran’s opening was short and succinct.
He told the court someone discharged a firearm that night, but it was not Mr Gleeson.
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In his opening address, Crown Prosecutor Luke Ogden told the jury Mr Gleeson was looking for his friend Jake Talbot because their “relationship had changed”.
The 28-year-old allegedly visited a Mayfield Road house three times in the hours preceding the shooting.
The jury was told Mr Talbot had not lived at the house for two years, but his mother Penny Talbot and her partner Darren Tynan still lived there.
While giving evidence, Ms Talbot said she told the accused to go to her son’s house at Trevallyn and asked him to leave her house multiple times.
Ms Talbot said she went to stay with her sister after Mr Gleeson came looking for her son for the third time, leaving Mr Tynan home alone.
When Mr Tynan took the stand he told the court he looked out his window while he was home alone and saw Mr Gleeson with a number of people standing under the street light across the road from his house.
“He was just standing there with an object in his hand,” Mr Tynan said.
Initially, Mr Tynan said he thought the accused was holding a bat.
But Mr O’Halloran asked Mr Tynan if he was mistaken about seeing Mr Gleeson with something in his hand considering he told the police he thought it was a bat, a hammer and a long object with a curved end.
Mr Tynan said he was not mistaken.
Shortly after that Mr Tynan was sitting inside his house when he allegedly heard a gunshot, so he jumped on the floor.
When he eventually got up to look through the window, he told the jury he saw Mr Gleeson standing on his lawn.
“As I opened the blinds he pointed the gun and shot at my car,” Mr Tynan said.
During cross examination, Mr O’Halloran questioned whether Mr Tynan was certain the person in his yard was the accused.
But Mr Tynan said he was sure he saw Mr Gleeson.
Tasmania Police ballistics expert Senior Constable Simon Taylor told the court the damage to Mr Tynan’s car was consistent with being caused by a shotgun.
He also estimated the person who shot the gun was anywhere between 10 to 30 metres away from the car.
Justice Robert Pearce adjourned the Launceston Supreme Court trial until Monday.
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