Magistrate ‘yet to be persuaded’ man accused of firing shots in Kalgoorlie-Boulder suburbia should get bail

Bail hangs in the balance for a man accused of firing shots towards someone in a suburban Kalgoorlie-Boulder area, with a magistrate “yet to be persuaded” even the strictest form of bail would be appropriate. Rory William Barnett appeared in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Thursday accused of shooting two bullets in bushland near Azamor Drive in South Boulder on September 19. Police say the 21-year-old — who is currently in custody at Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison — arrived at the area just after 6pm, where there were two men who had been involved in a road rage incident. Mr Barnett is alleged to have fired the two shots at one of the men. While no one was injured during the shooting, a bullet mark was later found on a nearby home. Magistrate Paul Lyons previously adjourned Mr Barnett’s application for bail to enable him to spend time “unravelling” the facts because the information was “unusual” and “convoluted”. This week Mr Lyons said while he had a “better understanding” of the alleged series of events, he still did not have a “complete understanding”. He asked the police prosecution to come back with clarification on aspects of their allegations, including whether it is alleged Mr Barnett “seemingly out of the blue” turned up in the bushland area where the other two men had been. The incident in the bushland followed an earlier alleged altercation between Mr Barnett and the complainant, which police say occurred about 3.45pm. The complainant went to drop children’s clothes off at Mr Barnett’s address, where the complainant’s ex-partner was staying. Police claim when Mr Barnett allegedly came out shouting “Come here you f…… dog”, the complainant ran towards him with an axe. Mr Barnett allegedly pulled out an item — believed to be a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun — from his backpack, pointed it at the complainant and said “I’m going to kill you”. The complainant then retreated. About 6pm, the complainant was driving around when a man on a motorcycle allegedly drove into the door of his car. Police say the complainant chased the man on the motorcycle before stopping and returning to his nearby home. When the complainant later heard the motorcycle coming past his house, police say he ran into the street to try to scare him away and the man fell off his motorcycle. A search of Mr Barnett’s home allegedly found three other bullets with the complainant’s name etched on them. Police also arrested the other man and found a homemade firearm about 5m away from where he was attempting to hide from police. Mr Lyons said he was not yet at the point of refusing bail but if Mr Barnett were released, only home detention bail — the strictest form of bail — would be appropriate given the potential risk posed by his bail. He ordered a home detention bail report to be made but said he wanted to make it “abundantly clear” that he was “yet to be persuaded” home detention bail would be “sufficiently” appropriate. The matter will come before the court later this month.