A crucial witness in the case against a senior Rebels bikie has failed to turn up to court, prompting a warrant to be issued for his arrest.
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The witness has previously told police the case was causing him anxiety and stress, and that he had concerns for his own welfare.
His failure to come to court on Thursday, along with a series of other problems, has caused a considerable delay to the case against Rebels southside chapter president Michael Wayne Clark.
Clark was due to face the ACT Magistrates Court for hearing on charges of theft and obtaining property by deception. He has pleaded not guilty to the offences and is fighting them at trial, represented by barrister Jack Pappas.
The allegations relate to a Nissan Navara, which was owned by the witness who failed to appear. The witness had loaned that car to a friend, who had allegedly failed to pay Clark $10,000 in 2012.
A number of men, not Clark, allegedly forced the debtor to hand over the keys to the Navara.
Clark is accused of later telling him that he would get the car back once he paid the debt.
The prosecution allege he then sold the car for $20,000, and forced the witness to sign registration papers to facilitate the sale.
The man made a report to police of a stolen car, but did not pursue it with a proper complaint until a year later. His short statement was then taken over a period of six days.
Police told the court they had gone to significant lengths to secure the attendance of the witness, repeatedly calling and emailing him, his family, and his partner.
Mr Pappas argued against issuing a warrant for his arrest on Thursday, arguing it was not in the interests of justice, because the reluctance of the witness was likely to continue if forced before the court.
Magistrate Peter Morrison rejected the submissions and ordered a warrant be issued.
He then granted the defence's application for an adjournment due to a range of issues, including the non-attendance of the witness, the late service of a police conversation with him, and the inability of the defence to serve a subpoena on him.
That means the hearing has been significantly delayed, and is unlikely to take place this year.
The case will be mentioned again in two weeks.
