Cop shooting accused 'lied to police', jury told

Neshanderan Rajgopaul. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A man accused of shooting an Auckland police officer admitted he lied to police, a jury was told today.

Neshanderan Rajgopaul, 29, is on trial in the High Court at Auckland for attempting to murder Constable Jeremy Snow in Papatoetoe in December 2009.

Mr Snow was shot four times when he and his partner stopped to check a car parked in the driveway of house.

He was rescued by armed police as he came close to dying from blood loss.

Giving evidence last week, Rajgopaul admitted he lied to police when interviewed, Justice Patrick Keane told the jury in his closing remarks today.

"But people lie for all sorts of reasons due to panic and fear. He was fearful about retaliation and being branded a nark," Justice Keane told the jury.

"You have to decide whether Rajgopaul's evidence was credible and reliable or not entirely convincing."

The jury would also have to pay careful consideration to the other witnesses they had heard during the trial, when determining who fired the shots, the judge said.

Rajgopaul's lawyer Ron Mansfield said there was strong and reliable evidence to suggest that his associate Darrin Court could have shot Mr Snow.

But Crown prosecutor Rachael Reed said Rajgopaul was the man who gunned him down.

As well as the attempted murder charge, Rajgopaul faced one charge of firing a weapon with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, four of unlawfully possessing a firearm, and one charge each of possessing a class A drug for supply and receiving stolen property.

He also faced two charges of assault using a firearm as a weapon relating to incidents between September and December 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges before the jury of six men and six women.

The trial is into its fifth week.

- NZPA