Shot cop was mistaken, jury told

Neshanderan Rajgopaul in the dock at the Auckland High Court. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A police constable shot four times in South Auckland in December 2009 only saw one person in the backyard and mistakenly took him to be the shooter, 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.

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

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

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

"You must be sure beyond reasonable doubt who shot Constable Snow," Mr Mansfield said.

The Crown's argument, that Rajgopaul had weaved a series of lies into his story, was not the case - it was his associates who had lied in front of the jury to protect Mr Court, Mr Mansfield said.

"You don't have to rely on the credibility of proven criminals, you can see it for yourselves from the evidence," Mr Mansfield said.

Rajgopaul was still wearing a high visibility vest when the shots were fired, which Mr Mansfield says were not the actions of a hardened criminal.

Mr Court was hiding behind a bush close by, wearing dark clothing, and was not seen by Mr Snow.

"One of them discharged the firearm and one of them went to the corner of the property and was seen climbing over compost bins.

"Mr Court pulled Rajgopaul over the fence because he knew he had to get them both out of there. He saw Rajgopaul was wearing the high visibility vest and pulled it off him. The firearm and vest were dropped there.

"Mr Court was crafty and experienced and he knew he had to hide the firearm. He stayed hidden but was discovered later at another property. He made a statement to police which was completely self-serving and put Rajgopaul in the picture," Mr Mansfield said.

Mr Court has previous convictions for violence, threatening to kill, rape, assaults, possession of a needle and methamphetamine, supplying class B drugs and conspiracy to manufacture drugs, as well as eight dishonesty offences.

"The suggestion that Mr Court followed instructions from Rajgopaul and feared for his own safety was well beyond belief and farcical," Mr Mansfield said.

The jury were shown a reconstruction of what happened that night, and Mr Mansfield pointed out Mr Snow only saw one person in the backyard and was confusing two people's actions into one.

Closing for the Crown yesterday, prosecutor Rachael Reed said Rajgopaul was the man who gunned down Mr Snow.

"Constable Snow was gunned down by a man who took his bravado from the guns he carried, fuelled by methamphetamine and his own ego," Ms Reed told the jury.

Rajgopaul has previous convictions for being an accessory in an aggravated robbery, carrying an 8cm knife in public and possession of methamphetamine, Mr Mansfield told the jury earlier.

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 fourth week.

Justice Patrick Keane is expected to sum up the case to the jury on Monday.

- NZPA