Former Australian Football League star, Daniel Connors, recently emerged victorious in his legal tussle to get his supposed involvement in a heated car chase quashed by the court.
Connors, aged 35, made a return appearance before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday for a crucial committal hearing aimed at ascertaining whether the case stacked against him could lead to a guilty ruling. Plying his trade with the Richmond Tigers, Connors had featured in 29 matches over a span of five years before he was apprehended in January following an alleged car chase that swept across Melbourne’s suburban heartlands on Christmas Eve of the previous year.
Prosecution barristers claim that Connors, documented on CCTV, drew attention to a firearm concealed under his waistband within an apartment building’s elevator in the early hours between 1 and 2am on December 24. Five-and-a-half hours later, Detective Senior Constable Nick Duggan from the gang crime squad reports that a car chase supposedly initiated following an assault on a man in the district of Footscray.
According to Duggan, two men reportedly escaped in a Volkswagen Passat and were pursued by a group of four individuals, inclusive of Mr Connors, who commandeered a stolen Toyota RAV4 along the routes of Moonee Ponds, Essendon, and Coburg. Connors allegedly landed in Footscray accompanying the duo from the Volkswagen just before driving away in the Toyota. The pursuit involved a series of shots allegedly unleashed from the Toyota before it collided with another vehicle around 7.30am.
Though Connors was allegedly stationed in the rear of the Toyota, he bears no charges for firing the gun. Conversely, the prosecution maintains that he either “encouraged” or collaborated with the supposed shooter.
Barrister Sam Tovey representing Connors implored magistrate Brett Sonnet to dismiss the charges, stating the case depended predominantly on CCTV footage. Tovey proposed to the court that the early morning CCTV imagery lacked sufficient proof of a firearm concealed in his client’s attire, putting forth the possibility that it could have been an innocuous item like a toy or a bottle of alcohol.
Accusations pointing towards Connors endorsing the supposed shooting were deemed as “speculation” by Tovey. He further argued that the prosecution would be tasked with definitively proving that Connors encouraged the offenses specifically.
Sonnet concurred with the assessment, thereby, dismissing four charges related to the alleged car chase against Connors and voicing dissatisfaction about the absence of evidence that could translate into convictions. However, he proceeded with three charges of possessing a firearm, theft of a motor vehicle, and committing an indictable offense while on bail.
The case is set to make its return to court later this month for a contest mention.
