NORWICH – Court came to a close late Tuesday with the people resting their case against an accused home invader and rapist.

After hearing the testimony from six witnesses, which included the victim and alleged coconspirator in the crime, defense attorney Linden D. Summers said he could not tell the court if his client, Jonathan “Joe” Elwood, 30, of Ashcraft Road, Norwich, would testify in his own defense today.

The prosecution called the victim to the stand to describe her version of events that took place during the Dec. 4 attack. She had fallen asleep she said, sometime around 8:30 p.m. and was awaken by a “loud bang.” Not until moments later would she realize that the source of the noise was two men breaking down her front door. In statements given to police, Elwood reported his coconspirator, Stephen R. Ohl, 25, of Lawrence Road, Sherburne, was the one who entered the home first – but in Ohl’s confession to the court last Wednesday, he said it was Elwood.

“I realized men were in my house and in that second I looked behind me and there was a man with a gun and he just hit me,” said the victim. In the following questions by the defense, the victim said she believed it was Ohl who struck her.

The gun used in the Sherburne attack was on display before the court and was an AK-47 assault rifle with pink camouflage. Ohl admitted in court the weapon belonged to him. However, Ohl, the victim and Elwood’s statements to police point to Elwood as the one carrying the gun. The prosecution brought in the man who later purchased the gun from the two suspects and reported that at the time he received the weapon, it was functional and had full automatic firing capability.

Ohl appeared before the court and said Elwood was the driving force behind the home invasion. Ohl said Elwood was the one who broke into the house, had the gun, struck the victim and told him to rape her. Ohl also said he was accepting responsibility for his actions and was remorseful.