The man who killed four people during a shooting spree through Darwin in 2019 has today faced court accused of assaulting an inmate in prison.
Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann, 48, appeared in the Darwin Local Court charged with one count of aggravated assault.
His lawyer Patricia Petersen told the court the case related to an incident inside the Darwin Correctional Centre.
"It's been alleged by the complainant that hot water was involved in what appears to be a fairly minor incident in prison — a stoush between prisoners," she said.
Dr Petersen said the defence and prosecution were in discussions about the alleged facts of the case.
"There is no scalding hot water available to prisoners," she said.
Dr Petersen said there was no possibility of Hoffmann having access to any type of weapon in the jail.
Matter adjourned until June 6
Dr Petersen told Judge Ben O'Loughlin that if Hoffman were to plead guilty to the aggravated assault charge, an agreement about certain details of the case would first have to be reached between the parties.
"There would need to be a disputed facts hearing, Your Honour, if we can't reach agreement, but I am hopeful that we might be able to agree," she said.
The judge adjourned the matter for a plea or mention in the local court on June 6.
Last year, Hoffmann pleaded guilty in the NT Supreme Court to three charges of murder and one of manslaughter part-way through what was expected to be a nine-week trial over the shootings.
Four men, Hassan Baydoun, Michael Sisois, Robert Courtney and Nigel Hellings were killed during Hoffmann's rampage on June 4, 2019.
Hoffmann is expected to return to the Supreme Court on May 27 for a sentencing hearing relating to the shooting spree.
