Carl and Shyheim Little returned to Wagga District Court on Wednesday for the final sitting of an eight-day trial, but Judge Gordon Lerve said he would not be able to deliver a verdict until the new year.

“Given the seriousness of the matter and the amount of material I will need to consider, I’m not going to give a decision today,” Judge Lerve said.

The brothers each stand accused of aggravated intimidation in company while armed at the Mill Street home on January 5 last year, while Carl Little is also charged with shooting resident Gabriel George in the thigh with a rifle.

Before the trial, a third co-accused Wayne Mark Murdoch pleaded guilty to the same charge of aggravated intimidation in company and gave evidence against the Littles. 

Murdoch told the court he had originally lied about his involvement because the Littles had allegedly threatened to kill him if he spoke out.

Crown prosecutor Max Pincott said that was characteristic of the entire case. 

“There is an underlying current in this case – it started in that house and it lingers still – fear,” Mr Pincott said.

“We heard evidence of it from Wayne Murdoch, and we experienced it through Riley Brabander.” 

Mr Brabander, who was in the house during the time of the invasion, told the court Shyheim Little had punched him to the ground before the shooting while armed with a hunting knife.

AS THE TRIAL HAPPENED: 

An identification video played to the court showed Mr Brabander visibly flinching when Shyheim’s photograph was shown to him.

“He breaks down and they have to switch the camera off,” Mr Pincott said. “If you watch his body prior to him breaking down, in my submission, there’s almost a convulsion.” 

However, Peter Williams, senior counsel for Shyheim Little, said the evidence of Murdoch and Mr Brabander were at odds with each other.

“We’ve got one person saying they saw [Shyheim] with a hoodie on, and the other person has him in a shirt and shorts – they just do not gel,” Mr Williams said.

“First, [Murdoch] said [Shyheim’s] knife was 50 to 60 centimetres, and then it halved – I don’t know, maybe it was one of those circus knives – then he said it was only 20 to 30 centimetres.” 

Bryan Robinson, senior counsel for Carl Little, also took aim at Murdoch’s credibility as a witness during his closing address.

“This is a classic case of a witness who is criminally concerned in the events and has sought to diminish his own role while inculpating others,” Mr Robinson said.

“He said that the purpose of his first interview was to say whatever he could to stop the police charging him.”

Mr Robinson said the victim’s identification of Carl Little as the shooter during a later police interview was also unreliable because he claimed he only knew what he looked like from Facebook.

“Gabriel George’s mind was contaminated by the Facebook image, and he could not distinguish between that image and the person who shot him,” he said.

The brothers will return to court on January 21 to learn the verdict.

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