A Las Vegas man yelled “I’ve got a gun” before pulling the trigger and almost hitting a crew member of Australian stripper troupe Thunder from Down Under in the head, a US court has been told.

Joey Kadmiri, 24, faces nine charges at a jury trial underway in downtown Las Vegas.

Prosecutor Kenneth Portz, in his opening address on Tuesday, said Kadmiri snuck into the Thunder from Down Under dressing room on March 18 at the Excalibur Casino about eight hours before the strippers took to the stage.

Scott Berchtold, an engineer for the show, found Kadmiri in the dressing room wearing a Sydney Fire Department T-shirt the performers wear in the show, the court heard.

Kadmiri allegedly told Berchtold he was a new performer.

About eight hours later when some of the performers noticed a briefcase containing their items on a patio adjoining their dressing room they went out and inspected it.

The court heard Kadmiri came out of the darkness, claimed the case was his and an argument erupted.

As Berchtold and performers restrained Kadmiri, he yelled: “I’ve got a gun. I’m going to shoot”.

“Scott Berchtold turns his head and is looking down the barrel of a gun,” Portz said.

Portz said the weapon was a .44 calibre Magnum revolver and Kadmiri pulled the trigger, missing Berchtold’s head.

“This is a big gun,” the prosecutor said.

“It is a gun Clint Eastwood made famous in the Dirty Harry movies.”

Berchtold suffered an abrasion on his face and gun powder burns on his chest while a stripper, Michael Fardell, suffered gun powder burns on his face and an ear injury.

Kadmiri faces charges including robbery with a weapon, burglary and battery with a weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm.

The trial continues.