Lamarre-Condon tells the jury he signed out his firearm for a shift on 16 February 2024, three days before the alleged murders.
He had permission to do this, he told the court, and on the way to work had stopped at East Village in Zetland to get his car washed.
The former officer claimed in court that it was common for police to get coffee or stop off elsewhere on the way to work.
He says he was thinking of stopping at Paddington to get his belongings from Baird before the other man got home from work, which would have put him in the “exact same” position he was in today as his firearm was still in his backpack.
Lamarre-Condon says he shot his gun in the Royal national park to test the volume
Lamarre-Condon tells the jury about an occasion when he went to the Royal national park with a friend and shot his gun.
At this time he was thinking of taking his own life, and he wanted to test how loud his gun was, he told the jury.
He says he fired it at a tree:
I was very aware of making sure the bullet didn’t hit any innocent person.
Police normally wear eye protection when firing their gun, Lamarre-Condon told the court, so when particulate entered his eyes from the shot, he said: “Shit there’s stuff in my eyes” and began rubbing it.
He then retrieved a brown paper bag and put it over the firearm before firing a second shot, he told the jury.
A little paper bag like that would never change the sound of a gun shot.
Lamarre-Condon tells court his relationship with Baird was not exclusive
The former officer has told the court he and Jesse were “doing things that couples were doing”, including getting dinners and spending time together.
We were not exclusive. I was still seeing people at various points throughout my time with Jesse.
Lamarre-Condon returns to the witness box
The former police officer has taken the witness box as he resumes giving evidence.
The 15-person jury has re-entered the court.
Welcome
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s continuing coverage of the Beau Lamarre-Condon trial.
Lamarre-Condon started giving evidence yesterday and this morning returns to the witness box in his double murder trial in the New South Wales supreme court.
The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering JesseBaird and LukeDavies with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.
He has denied two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
You can catch up with all of yesterday’s evidence before the jury in this story:
