Joseph Dawson standing trial after man shot in face at Albury unit

Joseph Dawson has pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded firearm in his Holmwood Cross unit in the early hours of May 2 last year.

But he has pleaded not guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to Luke Coughlan, who said he didn't remember the shooting and only remembered waking up in hospital.

A judge alone trial began in the Albury District Court on Thursday before Judge Sean Grant.

The court heard Dawson had repeatedly said after the incident that he didn't mean to shoot Coughlan.

Jack James Steele, who lived next door to Dawson, had been with a group of people inside the unit on the morning of the incident.

Mr Steele said he had been drinking at Beer Deluxe and later went to Dawson's home to "keep the party going".

The court heard Dawson, the alleged victim, Samuel Doyle and James Williams were at the unit.

Mr Steele, who said he had hung out with Mr Coughlan a few times but wasn't a close friend, recalled seeing Dawson pull out the weapon.

"He had it in his hands," he told the court.

"I didn't see where he grabbed it from, but I remember turning around and seeing him with the gun.

"It was small in size, it was a shotgun, a sawn-off shotgun, black barrels and a wooden handle."

Mr Steele said the accused man had been "waving it around, showing it off".

He didn't think it was a real gun at first.

"I thought it might have been a BB gun or something," Mr Steele said.

The court heard Dawson had played with the gun for a minute or two and put the barrell to Mr Coughlan's cheek for about 20 seconds.

He said he was in shock after hearing a loud noise and seeing Mr Coughlan on the ground.

The court heard the gun had been loaded, cocked, and caused an open wound to Mr Coughlan's cheek.

It lacerated nerves and muscles and shattered his jaw.

Mr Steele said he "just kinda stood there in shock, in panic, and then Joseph just said 'didn't mean that, shot my mate'."

"He ran out of the door with the gun and we just stayed there and tended to Luke," he said.

The court was shown images of the shooting scene.

Mr Steele said Dawson had been standing next to a white coffee table.

"F---,f---, I just shot my mate, I didn't mean to do that," he recalled him as saying.

Mr Steele said he and Mr Doyle called Triple-0 and helped the injured man as Dawson headed towards Albury TAFE.

He said Dawson returned and told those at the scene to tell police that people had come to the home with balaclavas and guns to rob them, and they had shot Mr Coughlan in the face.

"I don't think I even responded to him," Mr Steele said.

"I was just thinking in my own head, 'that's just stupid'."

But Mr Steele said he had initially told emergency workers he had been in his room and heard the gunshot.

"I was scared of Joseph Dawson," he explained on Thursday.

"He was off his head on drugs and honestly had just shot someone."

The court heard there were limited issues in the trial, including the nature of the act and Dawson's state of mind at the time.

The court heard there was no animosity or vitriol between Dawson and the injured man.

The prosecution argues a .410 shortened single shot shotgun was used.

The court heard the gun wasn't found during a search after the incident, but was recovered near the TAFE about six months later.

A person walking their dog in November found the gun in a shrub outside the TAFE.

The gun had rusted due to exposure to the elements.

Dawsons' DNA wasn't found on the firearm.

The court heard Dawson was picked up in his partner's car after the incident.

The court heard the woman, Maddie Styles, had demanded to know what had happened, and Dawson allegedly replied that he'd "shot him in the face".

Mr Williams said he had been with Mr Coughlan at Zed Bar before the incident.

He told the court he'd had one cap of ecstasy and about 20 drinks before heading to the unit when the venue closed.

He said he had been on his phone while at the unit and was still very drunk.

He said Mr Coughlan had said words to Dawson to the effect of "what are you doing with that, you'll never use it".

"Immediately before the gun went off, they were joking around," he told police in a statement on the day of the incident.

"Luke was saying things like Joseph wasn't going to use the gun."

He said Mr Coughlan had opened his mouth and moved towards the gun.

Mr Williams said it had been no more than 30 seconds between him first seeing the gun and it being discharged.

Mr Williams said everyone had "freaked out" after the shooting and he walked straight out of the home.

Dawson had said "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it, call an ambulance", Mr Williams said, and believed Dawson had gotten a towel.

He said he had held the towel to his face.

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"I was on the phone to someone I'm pretty sure, just panicking," Mr Williams said of the moments following the incident.

He agreed the incident had come as a complete shock.

He said he had initally told police he had just arrived as things were happening as he didn't want to be involved and didn't want to get Dawson in trouble as he'd had a gun in his unit.

Mr Williams said Dawson, who he said he "chilled" with pretty much every weekend, had said he didn't know how the gun went off and had repeated "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it".

The court heard Dawson sent a message on Snapchat to the victim saying "bra I'm so sorry, I never meant for that".

The trial will continue on Friday, with further witnesses due to give evidence.

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