Bedson defence claims 'he's no assassin'

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Jane Harper
Source: geelongadvertiser.com.au
BIKIE John Bedson's claim that he never meant to kill when he fired six shots at a group of men was incredible, a court heard.

"It is very easy after the event to say you never intended to do it," crown prosecutor Christopher Ryan, SC, told Melbourne's Supreme Court yesterday.

"He is like a little boy in the school yard saying 'I didn't mean it'."

But Mr Bedson's defence counsel Ian Hayden ridiculed the prosecution's attempts to make his client into an assassin.

Mr Bedson, 27, is accused of murdering Bandidos enforcer Ross Brand and seriously injuring Paul Szerwinski after opening fire from a vehicle on four men outside the Bandidos' Breakwater clubhouse on October 22, 2008.

Mr Bedson gave evidence on Monday saying his only motivation had been to shoot the clubhouse, but he had panicked and fired six shots after believing he saw Brand move forward and reach for a gun.

In closing arguments, Mr Ryan dismissed Mr Bedson's defence.

"Ross Brand didn't storm out," Mr Ryan said. "He stood there, momentarily, and lost his life."

Mr Ryan said the pattern of the shots suggested Mr Bedson had taken aim at the group.

"Ultimately the issue in this trial is what was going through John Bedson's mind when he squeezed that trigger not once, not twice, but six times," Mr Ryan said.

"For that insane moment, when he had that rifle in his shoulder, he intended to kill whomsoever those bullets struck."

But Mr Hayden argued the case for murder lacked credibility.

"The evidence speaks not of murder, but of plans going astray," Mr Hayden said. "What's happened here is a coincidence of events you could barely script.

"The crown case is essentially that my client is an assassin. Our case is that that's ridiculous.

"It's beyond comprehension that he would have such an intention. It defies sense, it defies logic."

The trial continues before Justice Elizabeth Curtain.