A criminal trial about a violent home invasion that involved a confrontation over a cheesecake has been abandoned due to confusion over about the burglars' identities.
James Gregory Elliott and Jackson Cory Allred faced charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and damage to property over the incident in the south Canberra suburb of Chisholm.
The ACT Supreme Court heard this week the two men allegedly forced their way into a unit through the garage door about 10pm on July 7, 2020.
Prosecutors said one of the men pointed a gun at the resident, who was in the garage, and demanded his car keys, money and a hydro set, while the other man allegedly hit him on the shoulder with a machete.
The court heard Mr Elliott and Mr Allred then went inside the home, where they were confronted by another man who was visiting the victim and cooking a cheesecake.
Prosecutor Beth Morrisroe said the visitor had a large carving knife and allegedly said to the pair:
"Well you've f***ed my cheesecake, game on!"
The court heard the two men then stole a portable safe and left through the garage, before kicking down the unit's front door.
The victim was then hit a final time before the pair allegedly stole his mother's handbag and ran away.
A witness allegedly saw the men leave the unit in a mid-2000s white Holden ute, with a damaged tailgate and missing grill.
Police said they found the ute at another home in the same suburb about an hour later.
Officers told the court they found the two accused inside the home and that Mr Elliott had a smear of blood on his hand.
Police searched Mr Allred and allegedly found the keys to the ute "between his clenched buttocks".
Police then searched the ute and said they found the handbag, the safe, an imitation handgun and a machete, which had DNA on it consistent with the victim's.
The court heard there was no question the home invasion took place; the issue was whether the two accused were the men who carried it out.
In a police interview, the victim initially said he thought he recognised the eyes of one of the intruders as a friend from high school — a man who was not one of the accused.
"I think it was rationalisation, maybe what had happened at the time, to try to cope," the victim later said.
But prosecutors dropped the charges on Wednesday, and the trial was abandoned because of the questions over identity.
