Regina v Adnan Darwiche [2006] NSWSC 923

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Regina v Adnan Darwiche [2006] NSWSC 923

HEARING DATE(S) : 9/3/06,13/3/06, 14/3/06, 15/3/06, 16/3/06,20/3/06, 21/3/06, 24/3/06, 27/3/06, 28/3/06, 29/3/06, 30/3/06

JUDGMENT DATE : 31 March 2006

JUDGMENT OF : Bell J at 1

DECISION : 1. The accused's motion is dismissed; 2. Pursuant to s 20 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 leave is granted to the Crown to substitute an indictment in the form of the draft handed up on 29 March 2006.

CATCHWORDS : Separate trial applicaiton - substituted indictment

CASES CITED : R v Baartman (unreported) NSWCCA, 6 October 1994 R v Middis (unreported), NSWSC, Hunt J, 27 March 1991

PARTIES : Regina Adnan Darwiche (Accused)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2005/992; 2005/1252

COUNSEL : Lloyd Babb / John Pickering (Crown) Angus Webb / Craig Smith (Accused)

SOLICITORS : S Kavanagh (Crown) Mark Klees & Associates (Accused)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION

BELL J

Friday 31 March 2006

2005/992; 2005/1252 Regina v Adnan Darwiche

JUDGMENT 1 BELL J: On 5 August 2005 the accused, Adnan Darwiche, was arraigned on an indictment containing ten counts charging him and four other persons with offences relating to three incidents that are said to have occurred in 2003. The indictment contained counts charging the accused with (i) shooting at Farouk Razzak with intent to murder on 27 August 2003; (ii) 2 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder arising out of a shooting in Lawford Street, Greenacre on 14 October 2003; and (iii) soliciting Nasaem El Zeyat, Ramzi Aouad and Mohammed Toumah to murder Ahmed Fadha in the period between 15 October and 13 October 2003 and with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Ahmed Fahda by Nasaem El Zeyat and Ramzi Aouad between 30 October and 5 November 2003. In addition to these counts the accused was charged with firearm offences arising out of his alleged possession of a self-loading pistol on the date of his arrest, 28 November 2003. The accused entered pleas of not guilty to each count. 2 The trial was fixed to commence on 13 February 2006. Prior to that date each of the accused moved for orders separating the trial of various counts. The motions came on for hearing on 8 December 2005. The accused's motion, and those brought by Ramzi Aouad, Abass Osman and Nasaem El Zeyat were stood over to be determined at the conclusion of evidence to be led at a voir dire. The voir dire was fixed to commence immediately upon the conclusion of the trial of Abdul Darwiche for the offence of shooting at Farouk Razzak with intent to murder. 3 The present trial commenced on 9 March 2006. On 13 March the Crown Prosecutor announced that it was his intention to proceed on a separate indictment in relation to the charges arising out of the murder of Ahmed Fadha. The Crown proposed that this trial commence at the conclusion of the voir dire and that trials of the remaining counts follow thereafter. 4 The evidence on the voir dire was completed on Tuesday 28 March. The proceedings were stood over to the following day to deal with some further preliminary issues relating to the trial of the Fadha counts. It is proposed to empanel a jury to try the accused, Ramzi Aoud and Naseam El-Zeyat with respect to the Fahda counts on Monday 3 April.