The owner of a dive shop has told a jury a man who entered his shop dressed in black and armed with two rifles said he was a terrorist and that he had a bomb.
Keith Woods gave evidence in the second week of the Supreme Court trial of Simon Fleming, who is accused of carrying out a terrorist act in the Illawarra suburb of Windang in November 2021.
Prosecutors allege Mr Fleming, 41, was motivated by right-wing white nationalist ideologies when he allegedly fired bullets into traffic on Windang Road before taking two people hostage in a nearby dive shop.
Mr Fleming has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The owner of the dive shop, Mr Woods, told the court he was in the back of his store making a coffee when he heard the front door slam.
"I saw a man standing there in full black outfit … black flak jacket, fully automatic and semi-automatic rifles," he said.
"The first thing he said was 'I am a terrorist'.
"The second thing was 'this is a bomb'."
The trial previously heard Mr Fleming left his Windang home armed with a rifle, a gel blaster and a silver briefcase designed to look like a fake explosive device.
Mr Woods told the court Mr Fleming told him to move behind the counter and call the police on Triple-0 before he began "rambling" to shop attendant Neill Hay.
The court heard that after the call failed because the police line was too busy, Mr Fleming ordered Mr Woods leave the store at gun point.
Under cross examination, defence barrister Leah Rowan suggested the evidence Mr Woods gave in court did not match the statement provided to police on the day of the incident.
"Do you agree with me that in your statement you said 'after the guy said it was a bomb, he then walked around the store he then returned to you and Neill and said 'sorry it is you guys, but you are the only shop open'," Ms Rowan said.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
Mr Woods responded claiming "everything was a bit frantic" that morning, but he definitely recalled Mr Fleming saying "I am a terrorist".
The jury heard a statement made by police Senior Constable Paul Winston, who negotiated with Mr Fleming over the phone while he was inside the dive shop.
Constable Winston said Mr Fleming told him not to send officers into the shop, and that he had "gas bottles ready to blow".
The court heard Mr Fleming demanded that the government relax its mask mandates which were in place at the time.
"He said my grandfather and dad fought in wars for our country and now everyone must wear a face mask," Constable Winston said.
"The government must remove mandatory face masks immediately."
Mother's evidence
Mr Fleming's legal team is arguing that the 41-year-old was impaired by mental illness on the day in question.
His mother Carol Fleming took the stand and became emotional as she recalled her son's early years as a promising soccer player.
"He started paying soccer at five played until he was almost 16 … soccer was his life until he left school," Ms Fleming said.
"Those were the good times."
The court heard Mr Fleming worked at the copper smelter at the steelworks in Port Kembla, Fox Studios in Sydney and at a fencing company where he sustained a workplace injury in 2005.
Ms Fleming said after the injury her son was unable to work and became "withdrawn" and "depressed".
She said as part of his treatment he was prescribed medications including opioid pain killers and antipsychotic medication.
"I was observing his erratic taking of the medication," she said.
"He was just existing, he was not living."
The court heard after the accused suffered an overdose, Ms Fleming confronted her son's doctor about his addiction to prescription medication.
"He needed to get something for pain that did not require him to be doped to the eyeballs every day," she said.
'He said I was not educated enough to make those statements … if I didn't leave the doctors surgery, he would call the police and have me arrested."
Ms Fleming said she was not aware whether her son had received any specific mental health diagnosis but that he "absolutely" suffered from paranoia.
She said he believed he was being bugged and tracked by secret branch of police and there was a conspiracy to kill him.
The trial continues.
