Brother ’iced off his head’ hit by arrow

A WOMAN has tearfully told a Hobart court she feared for her children’s safety after arriving at a Bridgewater property to collect her two sons on February 24 last year.

Eloise Calais yesterday told a Supreme Court jury Justin Pearce, the brother of her expartner Timothy Owen Adams, was yelling and screaming when she arrived at the house that afternoon.

Mr Adams, 36, has pleaded not guilty to wounding Mr Pearce by shooting him in the arm with an arrow fired from a compound bow.

Ms Calais said the brothers each had a caravan at their father’s Bridgewater home.

She said she went to the back of the house where Mr Adams’ caravan was parked and saw her two young sons, her daughter, her daughter’s partner and their 16-month-old baby in the caravan’s annex.

She said she told them all to go inside the caravan.

Ms Calais said Mr Pearce hit the caravan with a pole that came through the skin of the caravan.

“I told my kids to keep cushions on their heads,” she said.

“I watched my kids being scared for my life that day.”

Ms Calais called 000 and told the operator “Justin Pearce is going off”.

Mr Pearce yesterday told the court he was “iced off his head” on February 24 and was angry with his father and Mr Adams for wanting to move his caravan to the Hobart Showground.

He said he only wanted to damage Mr Adams’ caravan with the pole as revenge for damage to his caravan.

Mr Pearce agreed with Mr Adams’ lawyer, Craig Rainbird, that he was “in a rage” on that day, and said in addition to injecting ice, he had also been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis that day.

He also said he owned weapons, including two sticks with knives attached.

The court heard after Mr Pearce hit his brother’s caravan with the pole, he went inside the house and Mr Adams fired two arrows at him.

The first arrow missed. The second, fired through a window, hit Mr Pearce in the arm.

The defence is arguing Mr Adams acted in self defence.

The prosecution says there was no threat to Mr Adams at the time he fired the arrow.

The trial continues.