Former Stawell and Ballarat horse trainer Darren Weir and his co-accused will face the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on September 8 for a two-day contested committal hearing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The four accused - Weir, Jarrod McLean, Tyson Kermond and William Hernan, are facing several charges, with all but Hernan defending themselves against a charge of conspiracy to defraud.
Lawyers for the accused, and Weir himself, faced the Ballarat Magistrates' Court online on Wednesday afternoon for a special mention - it was confirmed seven witnesses will be cross-examined, including a number of police officers.
TODAY'S NEWS - CLICK HERE
Magistrate Ron Saines said the online hearing next month could be a "first" for the number of co-accused and the number of witnesses in an online court hearing.
"It's certainly a bold venture but it can only succeed if we give it a go," he told the court, noting he had experienced issues with online hearings previously and asked for goodwill from all parties if technical difficulties arose.
Weir was arrested following a raid at his Ballarat stables in January 2019.
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to the Wimmera Mail-Times, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling the Wimmera's story. We appreciate your support of local journalism.
