Drive-by case in court
Pair charged with attempted murder to face trial
THE pair charged with attempted murder over allegations they are behind two drive-by shootings in a residential Townsville street will face trial.
Kayla Cheree Maxfield and Dylan Ryan Tuckwell-cvek appeared before Townsville Supreme Court from custody on Monday where they both pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
They are both charged with attempting to murder Shane Robert Alexander on August 10, 2019. Alexander and others were inside his Landcruiser on Gould St when Maxfield and Tuckwell-cvek allegedly sprayed bullets at the vehicle.
The pair face an alternative charge which alleges they intended to inflict grievous bodily harm on Alexander when they attempted to strike him with a projectile.
Additionally they are both charged with arson, dangerous conduct with a weapon and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Maxfield is further charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle and possessing more than two grams of ice though made admissions and pleaded guilty to the drug offence.
Leslie Gordon Sharp is allegedly linked to part of the offending and is jointly charged with arson over allegations a Mercedes-benz was wilfully set alight on August 10.
Maxfield and TuckwellCvek were arrested at Cairns Hospital in August 2019 just days after the alleged shooting.
Lawyers for the group said the trial would take at least two weeks but that they anticipated applications would be made to separate some of the charges.
Crown Prosecutor Shannon Sutherland said she relied on 86 witnesses but that she did not expect all were needed at a trial. The trial has been listed for early February 2022.
Sharp further pleaded not guilty to a string of unrelated charges including trafficking and other drug related offences.
Sharp was arrested in February 2020 after police seized millions of dollars worth of drugs and a large amount of cash hidden in a car when detectives intercepted the vehicle in Home Hill.
Justice David North said he did not want Sharp’s drug charges to be heard in conjunction with the other charges and listed the matter for trial in late March 2022.