Michael William Carr, aged 21 and formerly of Mount Austin, is on trial at Wagga District Court on 11 charges including armed robbery, aggravated break and enter and steal, and motor vehicle theft.

Mr Carr is also accused of kidnapping a man on May 16, 2020 at Forest Hill with the intent to commit a serious indictable offence.

During a hearing on Monday, Crown Prosecutor Trevor Bailey made an application to vacate the trial until the witness, an alleged victim of the kidnapping, could be assessed by a psychiatrist.

"I'm afraid the Crown is embarrassed in that it is not able to present its best evidence," Mr Bailey told the court. "[The witness] suffers from PTSD and other psychiatric difficulties from his exposure to an extended period of detention."

Mr Bailey made the application under section 65 of the Evidence Act, which can allow the court to accept representations that have not been subject to cross-examination.

Judge Gordon Lerve asked Mr Bailey how important the witness was to the prosecution's case.

Mr Bailey said other witnesses could testify that their property went missing at a particular time, but only this particular witness could testify that Mr Carr was connected to "a crime spree over a 48-hour period".

"He is the only one who can give a description of the offender, a vehicle registration and the description of clothing, particularly a pair gloves that has a DNA match to the defendant," Mr Bailey said.

"He is the one person who is the lynchpin."

Crown prosecutors also provided a sworn affidavit as to the witness' mental state.

Mr Carr's barrister Roland Keller said he was inclined to agree with delaying the trial.

"My client is in residential rehabilitation for drug issues and it would be in his best interest to complete that first," he said.

Judge Lerve said he ordinarily would grant the application but he had already approved for Mr Carr to face a judge-only trial and he would prefer to start proceedings and hear first from the other witnesses.

"We need a formal diagnosis and a prognosis of the likelihood or not of [the witness] being able to give evidence," Judge Lerve said.

Judge Lerve ordered the trial adjourned until Tuesday and ordered that a Wagga psychiatrist prepare a report on the witness.

Mr Carr, who currently lives in Moree, had some of his bail conditions suspended so he could reside in Wagga for the trial.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: