Charges against Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton dropped
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Prosecutors have dropped charges against NRL superstars Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton.
The case against the high-profile footballers unravelled after the most senior police officer involved in the arrest admitted to giving false evidence and lying under oath during his testimony.
NRL players Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton on Wednesday morning.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The matter concluded after prosecutor Sam Bargwanna opted not to tender any further evidence on Wednesday morning.
Mitchell and Wighton, who are poised to become teammates at South Sydney after the latter finished his playing commitments with the Canberra Raiders, embraced when Magistrate Jane Campbell dismissed the case in the ACT Magistrates Court.
Mitchell and Wighton embrace after addressing the media outside the ACT Magistrates Court.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Sergeant David Power admitted in the witness box on Tuesday that key details he provided in the case did not occur. Power had previously alleged he kicked Wighton out of Fiction nightclub after he saw the NRL star with clenched fists, anger in his face and holding a man by the shirt. Police alleged Wighton and Mitchell fought each other outside the venue.
However, Power claimed he had a “long-term memory issue” after his version of events was challenged by Wighton’s lawyer, Steve Boland.
Boland said the police had attempted to “frame” his client, labelling the case as an “old-school stitch-up”.
“What I saw appears to have not happened and my memory has failed me,” Power said, adding that he had not intentionally misled the court.
Later, when Power addressed Wighton, he said: “Sorry, Jack, if that’s what happened, mate … I’m sorry.”
The apology did nothing to placate Boland, who said Power had invented evidence rather than forgot what had happened.
“You’re not mates, are you … how inappropriate,” Boland told the court.
The bombshell revelations came after Boland used CCTV footage to put together a timeline of events that contradicted Power’s version. Boland labelled Power’s testimony as “a total and utter fantasy you dreamt up to justify everything that happens”.
Mitchell, 25, had been charged with affray, fighting in a public place and resisting a territory official, while Wighton, 30, was charged with fighting in a public place and failing to comply with an exclusion direction.
with AAP
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