Several co-accused in South Tamworth home invasion case to front court in 2023

Tamworth Local Court heard on Wednesday the Crown was not yet ready to confirm which charges it would press ahead with against three men accused of storming into a family's home in South Tamworth and firing a gun.

Jermaine Sands, 22, Jai Lake, 21, and Jayelem Cutmore, 19, are all behind bars and did not appear when the court was told their cases could not progress.

"They're not yet ready to charge certify today," Cutmore's defence solicitor said.

"We're seeking an adjournment, the matter is currently with chambers," DPP solicitor Andrew Passlow confirmed.

Cutmore's matter was adjourned to January, along with Sands and Lake, meaning the trio will remain behind bars over Christmas.

They each face charges of robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon, as well as possessing a loaded firearm and endangering life in a non-public place.

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Lake and Cutmore also had three counts each of possessing an unauthorised firearm levelled against them, while Cutmore faces three allegations of using or supplying a stolen firearm or firearm parts. No pleas have been entered.

The court previously heard it was a complex case and the briefs of evidence took time to pull together.

The trio was arrested at separate times across the state by a strike force made up of Oxley police and the State Crime Command's Robbery and Serious Crime Squad.

Horror details of what police claim unfolded inside the Thompson Crescent house were earlier revealed in court. Police allege a masked group armed with stolen guns forced their way into the home about 10pm on March 2.

The police case is a woman was held naked at gunpoint, while another man, aged in is 20s, had a gun shoved in his mouth before it was moved and fired next to his head. His fingers were allegedly cut with a machete.

The group allegedly demanded personal items and cash before fleeing on foot.

Police said at the time the man was taken to Tamworth hospital, while the woman and two children at the home were shaken but not physically hurt.

The three stolen firearms were seized during a raid in West Tamworth in June.

Two women, Courtney Lee Penfold and Zali May Judy Lake, were also arrested for their alleged involvement and had their matters adjourned to January by magistrate Julie Soars.

Penfold faces an allegation of robbery armed with an offensive weapon, along with a string of other charges.

Lake faces firearms-related offences, as well as hindering the arrest of a person who has committed a serious offence.

"In the new year we must get things moving," Ms Soars said at Penfold's mention.

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