Prosecutors have dropped the charges levelled at two men who were accused of carrying out a south Canberra home invasion, during which one of the victims was cut with a machete.
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Jackson Cory Allred and James Gregory Elliott went on trial in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, having both denied charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and property damage.
The pair were accused of stealing items, including a safe and a handbag, from a Chisholm unit in July 2020, while armed with the machete and a gun.
Prosecutor Beth Morrisroe said, in her opening address to a jury, that a friend who had been cooking dinner for the unit's occupants had confronted the intruders with a knife midway through the incident.
"Well, you f---ed my cheesecake. Game on," this man was said to have told the intruders.
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It was game over for the case against Allred and Elliott on Wednesday morning, when Justice David Mossop granted the prosecution leave to file notices declining to proceed with both men's charges.
The reason for the case's collapse is not entirely clear, but the court had heard on Tuesday that the central issue was the identity of the home invaders.
Suspicion was cast that afternoon on Brad Takkenberg, who was described as "an old sort of high school mate" of the primary victim.
The primary victim gave evidence that he thought he might have recognised that man's eyes under one of the intruders' balaclavas.
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