Christchurch man Rory Manuel denies armed robbery and shooting at "tinnie house"

Rory Manuel denies being involved in a 2016 Christchurch armed home invasion.

An armed stick-up raid of an alleged Christchurch tinnie house ended with a man being shot in the neck, a court heard today.

Rory Edward Manuel, 35, denies being one of two men who allegedly burst into a house in the northwest suburb of Bryndwr in the early hours of December 29, 2016, and at gunpoint robbed three people of drugs, cash, booze, jewellery, laptops and cellphones, before fleeing in a stolen car.

The issue of identification and whether the Crown can prove Manuel was one of the armed invaders is central to his jury trial, which began at Christchurch District Court this morning.

Manuel, of Shirley, today denied a charge of aggravated robbery with a firearm causing grievous bodily harm. The second alleged intruder has never been identified.

It's a case about the "violent theft" of drugs, money and other property, Crown prosecutor Sean Mallett told the jury of seven men and five women.

Two men and a woman were home at the Morley St flat when the raid happened, the court heard.

They had just smoked some meth, Mallett told the jury, and were watching a movie when, at about 2am or 3am, there was a knock at the door.

One man yelled out to ask who was there. A voice responded, "Chris."

When the other male tenant went to open the door, it was either kicked or shoved open and a single-barrel shotgun was pointed in his face, the court heard.

Two men, described of being Māori or Pacific Island descent, one dressed in a blue top, one in a red top, told the men to lie face down on the floor.

The woman was told to face the wall, the court heard, and a blanket was put over her head.

She was allegedly told she'd be shot if she didn't stop screaming.

The two intruders asked where money, drugs and other valuables were before searching and "looting" the property, Mallett said. They allegedly found a suitcase in a bedroom and began loading it up with laptops, cellphones, jewellery and other property, including bottles of Belvedere Vodka.

The two men were patted down, with car keys, watches and wallets taken, the court heard.

As they were searching under a couch, the gun went off and the victim was shot at close range in the neck and shoulder.

The two intruders immediately fled in one of the victims' 1998 purple Honda Accord, which was later found burnt out and abandoned, the court heard.

The victim of the shooting underwent surgery but at the time was expected to make a full recovery.

Later that morning, the woman inside the house identified Manuel as the man dressed in blue who was holding the gun, the court heard.

A police scene exam of his home found a fingerprint on a Vodafone box that had been delivered to the Morley St house two months earlier. It matched with a left thumb print of Manuel, the Crown claimed. Two bottles of Belvedere Vodka bottles were also found at his house, the court heard.

Data recovered from Manuel's cellphone allegedly showed he sent a text at 2.12am that showed he was in the vicinity of a Bryndwr cellphone tower near Morley St.

When Manuel was spoken to by police, he denied any involvement, saying he didn't know who lived at Morley St and that he had never been there.

In his brief opening address, defence counsel Tim Fournier said the only issue for the jury is whether the Crown can prove beyond reasonable doubt that Manuel was "the man in blue".

The trial, before Judge Jane Farish, continues.