Man bailed in relation to January firearms incident in Wedderburn

Vito Nunno was initially granted bail by police in relation to the events of January 30, which the Melbourne Magistrates' Court was told followed years of tension between himself and his alleged victim.

He went into custody earlier this month after further evidence was discovered, which led to more serious charges being laid.

There were no allegations Mr Nunno breached the terms of his bail before being taken into custody.

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The court heard Mr Nunno's application for bail on Monday, with expected delays in the court system among the reasons his bid was granted.

Bail was opposed by the prosecution.

One of the conditions of Mr Nunno's bail was that all firearms be removed from a North Melbourne address, where he was to reside, before he was released from custody.

One of the firearms licensed for storage at the address is alleged to have been involved in the shooting at Wedderburn.

The court heard it was possible Mr Nunno had gained access to the weapons using a spare key.

Mr Nunno had been living between the North Melbourne address and Wedderburn for some time before the firearms incident.

The court heard tensions arose over motorcycle riding near Mr Nunno's home in Wedderburn.

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Magistrate Kieran Gilligan said he was surprised Mr Nunno was bailed when police initially spoke with him.

The evidence available to investigators at the time included firearms, a victim in hospital with shotgun pellets in their body, and the victim's claims they had seen Mr Nunno in a car 20 minutes after the vehicle was seen at the scene of the shooting.

Police told the court they did not believe they had enough evidence to lay more serious charges at the time, given the victim did not see Mr Nunno in the car when the incident occurred.

CCTV footage, which prosecutor Emma Fargher described as "significant and damning", later showed Mr Nunno with firearms.

His lawyer, Peter Randles, acknowledged the strength of the prosecution's evidence for some of the lesser charges Mr Nunno was facing, but said there was no concession of reckless conduct.

Mr Nunno is charged with recklessly engaging in conduct namely discharging a shotgun at a person that placed that person in danger of death, recklessly engaging in conduct namely discharging a shotgun at a person that placed a person in danger of serious injury, and intentionally causing injury.

He was also charged with firearms-related reckless conduct matters from September 2016.

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Mr Randles believed ballistics evidence would be key to his client's case and raised concerns about how long a report might take when arguing for his client to be bailed.

Delays in the case were also expected due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The court heard Mr Nunno might face a period of imprisonment if convicted of some of the charges against him. But the magistrate said other outcomes were also possible.

Mr Gilligan imposed a number of conditions on Mr Nunno's bail, including that he not be within 200 metres of the alleged victim and that he not attend the area of Wedderburn.

Mr Nunno was also required to present to the North Melbourne police station three days a week, and not to leave the state of Victoria.

He was bailed to attend the Bendigo Magistrates' Court in May.

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