AN EXTENDED charge determination date has been made for five men accused of carrying out a violent home invasion in Bordertown last year.
Darcy Jay Cameron, 26, Lee Laraine Burchell, 45, Jye William Mullan, 22, Hakopa Hamahona Tewhata and Aiden Gregory Mullan, 27 were all represented in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court last week for a committal hearing before Magistrate Teresa Anderson.
The five defendants were allegedly involved in a group home invasion on October 27, 2019 at Bordertown.
It is alleged the group illegally entered the home address of two victims and assaulted them.
The court heard the matter was first before the court on December 20 last year and a charge determination date was made on February 10 this year.
Monday’s hearing was the second charge determination date set and prosecution requested a further four to five week extension before formal proceedings could start.
Magistrate Anderson said the initial charge determination date of around two months was an “unrealistic” time period to meet and questioned why it was set.
“You would usually expect it to take around 14 weeks,” she said.
“I am not sure why there was such a short determination set especially when considering the complexity of evidence which would need to be collected for all five defendants.
“For reasons unknown to me, the date was not set within a timeline greater than two months.”
A third and final charge determination date has been set for June 22.
Magistrate Anderson excused all defendants from appearing on the next occasion.
