A man accused of the aggravated armed robbery of the Mowbray Hotel in 2018 told police his fingerprint may have got on the hotel's till when he moved it in the garage of a friend's house.
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Michael Samuel Charlesworth, now 24, of Rocherlea and Matthew Luke Williams, 27, of Rocherlea have pleaded not guilty to the aggravated armed robbery of the hotel about 8.40pm on May 9, 2018.
A Supreme Court jury heard two separate video interviews with Mr Charlesworth in May and July 2018 in which he denied involvement. Police told him that his fingerprints had been found on the till.
"I could have walked into the shed and seen some shit on the floor and moved it," he said.
When police told Mr Charlesworth that his brother Brandon's print was also on the till he said:"He didn't do it I can tell you that".
DNA matches to the accused men were made after police seized clothing, two pairs of distinctive red gloves and a blue cap from a washing machine in a shed in Verdun St, Mowbray.
The jury saw CCTV footage from the Black Stallion hotel at Rocherlea which showed a white Holden utility pulling into the driveway about 8.35pm.
Two heavily disguised men got out of the car but left when the hotel's doors would not open. CCTV footage showed the utility pull into the car park at the Mowbray Hotel minutes later.
The jury also saw CCTV footage from BP Newnham at 12.20am on May 10 showing Mr Charlesworth and a friend, Ziggy Brunskill, getting out of a taxi before buying food, drinks and a roll of duct tape.
Constable Shani Hayes saw the utility at Mayfield at 1.10am on May 10, shortly after it evaded police.
The motor was still running but nobody was in it. The car bore GT stripes made of duct tape.
About an hour later she recognised Mr Brunskill walking down the street.
The jury also heard that two police officers picked up Brandon Charlesworth in Mayfield about the same time. The trial continues.