A Melbourne man accused of gunning down two police officers in a barrage of bullets more than 20 years ago is expected to tell a murder trial he "wasn't there", a court has heard.
Key points:
- The prosecution in Jason Roberts's murder trial told the court they expected the accused to say he was not at the scene
- Mr Roberts has pleaded guilty to 10 armed robbery charges but maintains his innocence over the officers' deaths
- The court heard details of the final moments of Gary Silk and Rodney Miller outside the restaurant where they were killed
Jason Roberts, 41, today appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria accused over the slayings of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rod Miller at Moorabbin in August 1998.
The two police officers were staking out a restaurant they believed might be the latest target in a string of armed robberies when they were gunned down shortly after pulling over a car on Cochranes Road.
Sergeant Silk was shot three times and Senior Constable Miller was shot once.
Mr Roberts has pleaded guilty to taking part in 10 previous armed robberies with his then-girlfriend's father, Bandali Debs, but maintains he had nothing to do with the murder of the two police officers.
But the prosecutor, Ben Ihle QC, told the jury that the evidence would show it was likely the Silky Emperor restaurant was the next target for the two men.
"Within a short time of that car being pulled over, Sergeant Gary Silk lay dead on the grassy verge … Senior Constable Rodney Miller lay dying on the footpath," Mr Ihle said.
Mr Ihle told the jury that the accused man was expected to claim he "wasn't there", but that prosecutors would prove otherwise.
"Debs had a tendency to carry out armed robberies … with another armed offender but specifically … the accused man.
"When the offenders were intercepted by police … they each had a powerful motive to avoid detection and apprehension.
"We say this tendency form of evidence will help you in determining the question which really sits at the heart of this trial – was the accused present with Bandali Debs at Cochranes Road when the murders occurred?
"It is highly improbable that Debs would have set out alone."
Final moments of police officers detailed in court
The court heard that 11 shots were fired from three different guns, one of which was from a police-issued firearm.
Prosecutors told the jury that the other two guns – a .357 Magnum and a Webley and Scott handgun – had previously been identified by victims as being the same type brandished by Debs and Mr Roberts during the armed robberies.
Sergeant Silk's body was found by two other police officers, who were also staking out restaurants, in the moments after he was shot.
"Silk's police revolver was still in its holster at the back of his trousers, it had not been drawn," Mr Ihle said.
"He was laying there with his head about 4 metres from the edge of the road.
Senior Constable Miller was later found outside the Silky Emperor restaurant, about 170 metres from where he and his partner had tried to pull over the car.
"He had been shot, ultimately fatally, and was in severe pain," Mr Ihle said.
The jury heard that the dying police officer's colleagues tried to comfort him in his final moments, and it was then that he told them there had been two people involved.
"Although in pain .. he was both lucid and responsive," Mr Ihle said.
"He told the other police that there had been two offenders, saying variously words like 'two, one on foot'.
"He said, 'Get them, I'm f***ed,' … and 'they were on foot.'
"As he was being loaded into the ambulance, one of the police that was there recalls Miller again saying, 'Make sure you get those c***s'."
Mr Roberts's defence lawyers are expected to make their opening statements to the jury later this week.
The trial continues.
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2022-03-08 05:57:35Z
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