A bikie tried to remove a bullet from the leg of a fellow Comanchero to cover up a shooting, in what a third man described as "backyard surgery", it is alleged.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Details of the case against the alleged shooter, Connor John Manns, have emerged during a bail application in the ACT Magistrates Court.
In documents tendered to the court, police allege the 22-year-old shot fellow Comanchero Sugimatatihuna Mena in the left thigh at "an unknown location" in Tuggeranong on December 16 last year.
A short time later, in recorded phone calls, Manns allegedly told Alexander Maconochie Centre inmate Daniel Grech that he had shot "Sugi" in the leg and that they were attempting to remove the bullet.
All three men could be heard laughing about the situation and what Grech called "backyard surgery", according to the documents.
Later that night, an injured Mena turned up at Calvary Hospital and was quickly transported to Canberra Hospital.
When visited there by police, documents say Mena refused to provide a statement, claiming he might have been hit with a rock or pellet gun while walking down a street.
However, Mena then underwent surgery that resulted in a bullet being removed from his thigh.
On December 19, police recovered the bullet from Canberra Hospital for forensic examination.
An officer leaving the hospital allegedly saw Manns driving a Toyota Camry, with Mena in its front passenger seat.
Police attempted to pull the car over but it sped away dangerously, the documents say.
Manns was arrested on December 24 and subsequently pleaded not guilty to charges of intentionally or recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm, attempted wounding, and failing to stop a motor vehicle for police.
He was remanded in custody at the Alexander Maconochie Centre following his initial court appearances.
Just shy of four months after his arrest, Manns appeared again in the ACT Magistrates Court to apply for bail on Thursday.
Defence lawyer Bowan Shelton told the court the case against Manns appeared to be "quite weak", with the driving charge reliant on the word of a single police officer who said he had seen Manns behind the wheel.
He said the other charges relied heavily on the contents of phone calls, including one in which Manns and Mena could be heard speaking after the apparent shooting with seemingly no animosity between them.
Mr Shelton said Manns ought to be granted bail because the case against him was far from overwhelming, and because Manns had a history of attending court when required.
But prosecutor Skye Jerome argued the case was strong. She said despite refusing to talk to police, Mena had discussed the events of December 16 in other intercepted phone calls.
Ms Jerome opposed Manns being granted bail on four grounds, including the likelihood of him committing offences.
She said intelligence from ACT Corrections suggested that since he had been on remand in jail, Manns had sent a coded email to a third party in which he appeared to suggest that if another inmate was able to go to hospital, Mena could visit that inmate and supply drugs to be smuggled back behind bars.
The prosecutor also said police did not know the whereabouts of the gun involved in the December 16 incident, and officers feared Manns would "destroy or fabricate evidence" if granted bail.
In another issue, Manns was wanted by NSW Police, meaning that if he was granted bail he would likely be arrested immediately and put back before the court for an extradition hearing.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston noted the situation could change quickly if Manns was re-arrested and extradited, but decided to grant Manns bail with a lengthy list of strict conditions including that Manns not contact Mena or possess firearms.
Mr Theakston said that on the evidence, it would be very difficult to dismiss the possibility that there had been an accidental shooting with no malice on Manns' part.
Manns' case is listed to return to the ACT Magistrates Court next Friday.
