Jury retires in Manurewa murder trial

Bodi McKee is standing trial in the High Court at Auckland, accused of killing Manurewa man Leslie Putt. Photo / File

A jury deciding on the guilt of a man accused of murder over a shooting in a Manurewa driveway has retired to begin making its decision.

Bodi McKee, 24, is standing trial in the High Court at Auckland, accused of killing Manurewa man Leslie Putt last year outside a house on Winsford Street.

The Crown says the two men - neither of who lived at the home, where drug dealing was taking place - got into a heated argument at about 7am on September 24, before the accused shot an unarmed Mr Putt in the gut.

The 32-year-old died despite the efforts of paramedics.

Before the jurors retired to begin deliberating on Wednesday morning, Justice Matthew Muir summed up the case, telling them not to be affected by the kinds of lives the witnesses said lived.

Some had described "commercial-scale" drug deal at the home, meth use and suggested fighting was a normal way for handling disputes.

"No one here is on trial for drugs charges. Nor is this a court of morals or standards," Justice Muir said.

He also urged the jury not to speculate about why the two men had begun fighting in the first place, saying no evidence had been presented about that.

The Crown says McKee arrived with a loaded gun and wearing a wig early in the morning and quickly went to confront Mr Putt, who was sleeping in a car outside.

The accused had any number of chances to run, and ignored Mr Putt's challenge to a fist fight, instead firing his gun at close range, prosecutor Yelena Yelavich said.

But McKee's lawyer, Annabel Ives, said her client had begged for help, was unable to flee, and fired in a panic as an aggressive Mr Putt - who had been using meth, was on the run from police and was at the house to provide "security" - took a swing at him.

- AAP