Pistol found in bushes

Gun outside accused’s back door

A PISTOL was located in bushes during a police search of Jack Vincent Harrison Sadler’s home in the days after he was accused of killing an acquaintance following a falling out, the Launceston Supreme Court has heard.

Mr Sadler has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Jake Anderson-Brettner on August 15, 2018, at his Riverside home.

During his testimony on Friday, Detective Sergeant Darren Turner said the gun was located at the Dion Crescent property on August 19, 2018.

“A Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol in a vacuum-sealed bag (was found) in bushes outside the rear door,” he said.

The court heard a taped up piece of piping containing three boxes of ammunition and a silencer was found at the adjoining property on the same day.

The court was told two keys and ammunition were found in a zip-lock bag in a drain at Mr Sadler’s house and a black pistol case was located at the bottom of a wardrobe in the room of the house used as a study.

Constable Donna Stafford went through the photographs she took of dark stains inside the house, including at the base of the door to the room, known as the shoe room.

During the opening statement of Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC, it was alleged Mr Sadler had lined the room in plastic in preparation to kill Mr Anderson-Brettner.

The jury was told a Bunnings receipt dating August 14, 2018, was also found by police in the bedroom.

During his opening statement, Mr Coates said Mr Sadler had directed his girlfriend Gemma Clark to buy items from Bunnings including bleach, goggles, disposable gloves and tape.

Constable Stafford also attended Peel St in Summerhill on August 20, 2018, where a key had been located by police at the bottom of a drain and was later used to unlock a black Nissan Navara. The court has previously been told Mr Anderson-Brettner owned a black Nissan Navara.

Detective Amanda Munro told the court two magazines for a pistol, ammunition and an “item identified as a pill press” were found on August 19, 2018, at a storage unit in Legana.

It is an agreed fact of the trial that the parents of Mr Sadler owned the storage unit from May 2018 until October of that year.

The trial continues before Justice Robert Pearce on Monday.