Jailed after refusing to give evidence
COURT TOLD TESTIMONY ‘CRITICAL’ TO TRIAL IN WHICH ACCUSED ACQUITTED
A WITNESS in the case of a man on trial accused of shooting an acquaintance in the back at point-blank range has been jailed for contempt of court.
Raymond Steven Albert Adams, 29, faced Townsville District Court from custody on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to a single contempt of court charge after he refused to testify in a trial last month.
Prosecutors say his refusal to give evidence led to the acquittal of bikie-linked Yohans Shol who was on trial accused of a violent shooting.
Shol was charged with doing a malicious act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and allegedly shot Nathanial Joseph Sailor Sr in the back at a Bohle property on August 29, 2020.
Sailor was seriously injured in the attack and was left with a disability after a bullet lodged in his spine.
Shol was acquitted of the shooting in March after a two-day trial in Townsville.
Shol has public links to the Lone Wolf outlaw motorcycle gang and in his youth gained notoriety by exploiting a legal loophole to throw out-of-control teenage parties in southeast Queensland.
Adams told police a version of events that corroborated the Crown case just days after the incident, the court was told.
Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard said Adams’s testimony from his police statement was “critical” to the Crown’s case against Shol as it substantiated the victim’s version of events.
She said his evidence was expected to identify the shooter, explain how the gun was obtained and disposed of and also explain why there was no CCTV footage.
Ms Sheppard said without Adams’s evidence Shol’s lawyers were able to suggest it was in fact him who shot the victim.
“Without it the complainant’s account … was uncorroborated,” she said.
“The defendant’s conduct in refusing to be sworn was … determinative as to why there was an acquittal.”
Ms Sheppard said Adams was set to tell the jury that he heard Shol arguing with the victim before a gun was fired before he saw Shol standing over the man threatening him.
Further Adams was expected to say he saw the alleged shooter turn off CCTV cameras on the property before the attack.
Defence barrister Frank Richards said his client was torn about giving evidence in the case due to conflicting loyalties.
The 29-year-old is distantly related to the victim, but was a close friend of Shol.
“It is quite difficult to precisely determine the extent to which someone’s refusal to give evidence has affected the course of justice.
“In my submission an acquittal, even had (Adams) given evidence, was a distinct possibility.”
Judge Gregory Lynham said a jury found Shol not guilty of the charge but that in his view this was in part due to attacks from Shol’s lawyers on the victim’s credibility.
He said Adams’s police statement “almost perfectly” matched the evidence the victim gave during the trial.
“It seems to be, had the jury heard from Mr Adams … it would have provided powerful corroboration for the evidence of (the victim).
“At least on the face of it, the results might have been entirely different.
“The jury were deprived of your evidence.”
Judge Lynham sentenced the 29-year-old to nine months jail. Adams is currently serving a six-year sentence after he was convicted of torture in December 2021.
His nine-month sentence will start after he has served his other sentence and he will be released on parole in June 2023.