Two men involved in a blockbuster attack on a Youngtown man could not remember the other person who accompanied them in the car to the scene, a Supreme Court jury heard on Tuesday.
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Paul Lance Broad, 27, gave evidence that he had served time in jail over the attack on June 17, 2019.
Steven Anthony Dunne, 30, said he had driven his Commodore to the Youngtown address but could not remember who the third person in the car was because he was too intoxicated.
Jacob Douglas George, 22, has pleaded not guilty to wounding Phillip Deveral Adams and unlawfully injuring property in the driveway of Mr Adams' home.
The key issue in the trial is whether the prosecution can prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was Mr George who aided and abetted the attack.
Crown prosecutor John Ransom showed Mr Broad CCTV footage from the night.
"Who is that wrestling?," Mr Ransom asked. "One is me and the other one is Phillip Adams," Mr Broad said.
"Who is the man behind?," he asked. "I don't know who that is," Mr Broad said.
He agreed that he had met Mr George, who was a friend of his little brother.
But he said he could not remember who travelled in the car because he was too intoxicated from drinking two cartons of Wild Turkey.
He said he was not quite sure if Mr George was wearing a beanie at the time. Forensic analysis linked Mr George to the beanie.
When Mr Ransom suggested that it was open that it could have been Mr George Mr Broad replied: "Could be I can't recall."
Mr Broad said that he had "already done six months jail not to be here" [to give evidence].
Mr Dunne, who drove the car, said he had also pleaded guilty over the bashing. He said he had dealt with Mr George a couple of times.
"I'll put it to you squarely that it was Mr George?," Mr Ransom said.
"If you are suggesting it is him [Mr George] I can't say anything to that," Mr Dunne said.
He denied that he had given the blockbuster to anyone just prior to getting out of the car.
Under cross examination from defence counsel Lucy Flanagan Mr Dunne said that he probably would not have recognised Mr George if he had been in the vehicle because of intoxication..
The jury heard on Monday that a simmering feud between the Adams family and Messrs Broad and Dunne came to a head on the night.
During the attack Mr Broad said to Mr Adams: "You can blame your boys for this."
The feud included Mr Dunne performing regular burnouts in Mr Adams' street and damaging his property.
Mr Adams suffered serious injuries including cuts to his head, abdomen, fractures of a number of vertebrae and the shoulder blade as well as the loss of eight teeth in the attack.
His Nissan Navara suffered about $11,000 worth of damage.
Mr Adams recognised two of the men Messrs Dunne and Broad on the night but did not know the third man. He was unable to identify Mr George in a photo-board lineup put together by police.
Mr George elected not to give or adduce evidence in the trial.
Mr Ransom and Ms Flanagan and Justice Robert Pearce will sum up the case before the jury retires to consider its verdict on Wednesday.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
