A former neighbour of David Eastman said the former public servant asked him to ask his sister to bring a pistol into Australia on her next trip from the United States.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Andrew Russo also told Mr Eastman's murder trial on Monday that Mr Eastman had possibly suggested the pistol be transported inside a diplomatic bag.
He said he never took the request to his sister.
But Mr Russo, who gave evidence on screen from a remote location, later denied a suggestion by defence barrister George Georgiou SC that it was he who had first brought up the topic of getting a pistol from his sister.
"That's totally incorrect, I never said any such thing," he said.
He also denied raising the idea of using a diplomatic bag to bring in the firearm.
"I don't think I would, because I had no intention of bringing a pistol in for myself or him," he said.
Mr Eastman, 72, is accused of murdering Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester in the driveway of his neighbour's Deakin home on January 10, 1989. Mr Eastman has pleaded not guilty to the murder.
Mr Russo told the trial that he and Mr Eastman had had a physical argument in December 1987.
The neighbour said he and Mr Eastman had earlier argued, after Mr Russo's mother parked in Mr Eastman's carport at the flats where they both lived in Reid.
Mr Russo said he approached Mr Eastman in the car park, wanting him to leave his mother alone.
He agreed he had pointed a finger at Mr Eastman, and that Mr Eastman had told him not to.
He said Mr Eastman began the punching, and he denied that he punched Mr Eastman.
He said it was later on that his mother began hitting Mr Eastman with her umbrella, when Mr Eastman was "belting the hell out of me".
"He was punching me like I was a punching bag," he said.
Mr Russo denied punching Mr Eastman but agreed he had knocked his glasses off his head after striking at the side of his face.
Mr Eastman, the ACT Supreme Court trial has heard, was later charged with assault over the December 17 incident.
Prosecutors contend Mr Eastman made a number of attempts to have the charge withdrawn, even meeting with Mr Winchester and the ACT's shadow attorney-general, Neil Brown.
Mr Eastman feared for his desired return to the public service if convicted of the crime, prosecutors say.
The trial continues.
