news, national

A well-known maker of stockwhips regularly seen entertaining people at Darwin markets and on TV has gone on trial after he shot a man who trespassed on his property. Mick's Whips owner Michael Denigan, 54, pleaded not guilty to a charge of unlawfully causing serious harm as his trial before a jury began in the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Monday. He admits shooting Thomas McIntyre but says he did it in self-defence when he saw the heavily bearded, six-foot two-inch tall, 100kg-plus figure walking on his property with an axe. Mr McIntyre and two other men, William Allen and Michael Holden had driven in pouring rain to confront Denigan on his remote property outside Darwin at 11.30pm on February 23 last year. Denigan was in a sexual relationship with Chantelle Holden, a 19-year-old woman and sister of Michael, but earlier that day he believed she had stolen $100 out of his wallet, the court heard. The twin sisters were at Mr McIntyre's house with other people who were drinking when the text messages arrived and the group devised insulting messages to send back to Denigan, inviting him to visit them. The three men then went to Denigan's house with the only sober one, Allen, driving, saying that it was out of concern for Chantelle as she was troubled. Denigan told police he felt uneasy and padlocked his front gates that night. McIntyre walked on to the property with a beer can in one hand and axe in the other but says that was only to protect himself in case there were dogs, which there was not. "I threw the axe back, then off to my right hand side there was just a flash and bang and I felt something hit my leg," McIntyre told prosecutor John Ibbotson in court. "I could not get off the ground, my right leg wouldn't work for me. "Then he (Denigan) came out of the dark, leant over me and said: 'you've got five seconds to get off my property or the next one's going into your head'." Mr Holden and Mr Allen grabbed Mr McIntyre and they fled before an ambulance took him to hospital. When Denigan's lawyer Jon Tippett suggested to Mr McIntyre that he was aggressive and had thrown down his beer can and walked up the property with an axe, he denied it. "I live in the Northern Territory, I don't waste beer, the plan was to take the beer I had in my hand and have a relaxing conversation with Mr Denigan," he said. The trial continues on Tuesday. Australian Associated Press

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