A CLASH over a $10 note that escalated into a fully-fledged bar brawl and ended with a man getting shot in the foot has seen 59-year-old Michael Edwards jailed for at least the next 2.5 years.
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Edwards was sentenced in Newcastle District Court on Friday over an alcohol-fuelled incident on Melbourne Cup Day at a popular watering hole in Greta, last year.
The Hunter Valley mine worker had been out with friends and his partner at the local workers' club since lunchtime.
About six hours later, an argument unfolded over a $10 note which a man put on the bar between himself and Edwards.
When Edwards tried to claim the cash, what started as a yelling match descended into chaos, Edwards slapping and punching the other man in the face and copping a headbutt himself.
Another man, who Edwards would shoot in the foot with a shotgun hours later, tried to intervene and was pushed into a bar stool before he hit the ground.
Judge Peter McGrath acknowledged that some "disgusting", "derogatory", "provocative" and "extremely hurtful" words were said by the victim to Edwards about his mother, who had died just a week earlier.
In response, Edwards swung at the victim who ducked and then punched him in the face, while staff at the club disarmed his girlfriend who had picked up a pool ball in the fray. Some were kicked out and Edwards and his girlfriend left a short time later, stopping off at a friend's place.
Still riled up about the workers' club brawl, Edwards went home, took a 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun out of his safe along with two live ammunition shells and got his girlfriend to take him to the victim's house where a group was socialising in the backyard.
A 23-month old baby was asleep in the home at the time, when Edwards kicked the side gate open holding the shotgun. The group scattered, the victim into the laundry, where he shut the door behind him. Edwards loaded a bullet into the gun, pointed it at the bottom corner of the laundry door and fired, hitting the victim in the right ankle on the other side.
According to police facts, the victim screamed, "F--- I've been shot, I've been shot" as Edwards ran back into his girlfriend's Mazda and went home.
The victim ended up having to have multiple surgeries to remove shrapnel from his foot, suffered a fracture to his big toe and had to have reconstructive surgery including skin grafts, hospitalising him for three weeks.
A search of Edwards' home upon his arrest revealed an illegal gun silencer, a metal tin with 3.3 grams of cannabis inside and a legally-owned rifle with a live round in its chamber that wasn't stored correctly.
The court heard the shooting was "out of character" for Edwards, whose record had been without incident for the last 27 years. Edwards told police in an interview his intentions were just to "scare" the victim and that he didn't have any intention of firing the weapon on November 2, 2022.
Judge McGrath said while his level of intoxication, having admitted to drinking 12 to 14 schooners that day, wasn't a mitigating factor, it did play a role in the incident.
For a charge of affray, Edwards was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, a $350 fine for a weapons storage breach and convicted with no penalty for possession of cannabis. For shooting the firearm at the home with a reckless disregard for safety, Edwards was sentenced to 4.5 years with a non-parole period of 30 months, expiring May 1, 2025.
Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
