HEADNOTE
[This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment]
Jacob Bayliss (the applicant) appealed against his conviction of supplying a firearm contrary to s 51(1)(a) of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) on the grounds that the verdict was unreasonable, in that it was "unsafe and unsatisfactory and not supported by the evidence", and that this verdict was inconsistent with the verdict of not guilty on count 3 (supplying a different firearm contrary to the same provision). The applicant was tried with five co-accused who were charged with offences such as shoot with intent to murder, murder and attempted murder.
On 1 February 2017, the applicant was accompanied by Ms Martina Sellers (a pseudonym) to a unit in Burwood. Ms Sellers gave an induced statement in which she said that, on the way to Burwood, the applicant produced a gun from behind her car seat. When Ms Sellers and the applicant got into the lift from the underground carpark to go up to the unit, the applicant told Ms Sellers that he did not want to stand in view of the security camera. Ms Sellers was in full view of the camera in the lift whereas the left side of the applicant's body was out of the camera range. The applicant appeared to be carrying a black garment. It was the Crown case that this garment concealed an item, consistent with a firearm, such as the gun described by Ms Sellers. After entering the unit, the applicant removed the bundle of cash and long gun and handed it to a friend. It was the Crown case that there was also a smaller gun which had been secreted in the applicant's backpack which was also exchanged (the firearm the subject of count 3). The applicant was given drugs. The CCTV footage showed the applicant and Ms Sellers leaving the unit after the alleged gun supply. On this occasion, the applicant made no attempt to conceal the left side of his body (on the Crown case, because he had supplied the firearm to the men in the unit and no longer had any reason to hide himself).
In her evidence, Ms Sellers, resiled from those parts of her induced statement that implicated the applicant in the supply of guns. The prosecutor was granted leave to cross-examine Ms Sellers on her induced statement pursuant to s 38 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), which allows a party who has called an unfavourable witness to cross-examine that witness. Although Ms Sellers admitted that portions put to her were included in the induced statement, she continued to deny the truth of statements which implicated the applicant in gun supply.
As there was no direct evidence of the gun supply, the trial judge directed the jury that the only evidence of the supply was Ms Sellers' induced statement. In summing up, the trial judge warned the jury about the potential unreliability of her evidence on several bases, including that she was criminally involved in the events and may have had a motive to implicate the applicant and the evidence in her statement was hearsay as it had, in part, been denied by her in evidence. The trial judge warned the jury that it would be dangerous to convict the applicant of counts 2 and 3 on the strength of Ms Sellers' evidence alone.
The Court held (Adamson JA, McNaughton and Sweeney JJ agreeing) dismissing the appeal:
(1) It was open to the jury to accept the evidence in Ms Sellers' induced statement on count 2 and to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the applicant's guilt on that count. The induced statement was detailed and to a large extent consistent with other objective evidence, such as the CCTV footage, and admissions made by the applicant. Ms Sellers' evidence on count 2 was supported by the stark difference between the applicant's avoidance of the camera when ascending in the lift to the unit and his preparedness to stand in full view of camera when descending: [58], [64]-[65].
(2) No conclusion that different verdicts are inconsistent can be drawn merely because the evidence in support of both counts was largely given by a single witness: [68].
R v Markuleski (2001) 52 NSWLR 82; [2001] NSWCCA 290 at [221] (Wood CJ at CL); R v ACK [2000] NSWCCA 180 at [51] (James J, Spigelman CJ and Ireland J agreeing), discussed.
(3) The different verdicts in respect of counts 2 and 3 can be explained as a matter of logic and reasonableness on the basis that there was evidence that supported Ms Sellers' evidence on count 2 but no such supporting evidence for count 3: [76].
MFA v The Queen (2002) 213 CLR 606; [2002] HCA 53 at [43] (Gleeson CJ, Hayne and Callinan JJ), applied.