‘Collision course’: men walk over fatal street fight
Rex Martinich |
Two men and a teen set themselves on a fatal “collision course” when one brought a gun to a street brawl over stolen motorbikes, a judge has found.
Carlo Piero Stewart, 31, died after being shot in the thighs and back with a handgun during the confrontation between two groups at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, in 2021.
Brayden Alan Wilson-Knight, 29, Tye Joshua Bickle, 33, and Kobi Jace Wilkins, 22, faced the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Mr Stewart was killed following a complex series of events that escalated when he tried to retrieve stolen unregistered trail bikes that had been sold to Wilson-Knight.
Wilson-Knight obtained a .22 calibre handgun before travelling with Bickle and Wilkins, then 16, to a pre-arranged location to return the bikes to Mr Stewart.
His decision to grab an illegal firearm put an “unstoppable force” in motion that led to Mr Stewart’s death and lifelong injuries for others, Justice Peter Callaghan said.
“They set themselves on a collision course,” he said.
“They did not know Wilson-Knight had armed himself with a handgun.”
Instead of going to the meeting place, Mr Stewart and nine other men clad in face masks and hoodies went to Wilson-Knight’s home and cornered his family members.
“Wilson-Knight must have been horrified and frightened,” Justice Callaghan said.
“Members of the posse must accept they played a role in what happened.”
After rushing to his home with the co-accused, Wilson-Knight pulled out his handgun and attempted to fire it.
During a resulting brawl, he then likely threw the handgun to Bickle, who fired it after being hit in the head with a baseball bat, Justice Callaghan found.
Bickle fired 10 shots within seven seconds.
“He was hurt, dazed and disoriented,” the judge said.
“He fired a warning shot then fired indiscriminately and without any particular intention to cause injury.”
Justice Callaghan was scathing of prosecutors for acting in a “bewildering” manner by maintaining murder charges against the trio for years before recent acceptance of pleas to manslaughter and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
He said that delay required him to reduce their sentences.
Bickle, whose life has “fallen apart” due to the brain injury he received just before shooting Mr Stewart, and Wilkins were both given five-year jail terms that were wholly suspended.
Both were ordered to be granted parole immediately on their other charges.
But Wilson-Knight was kept in custody after receiving the harshest sentence of nine years.
“This should not be a surprise. You brought a handgun to a heated situation,” Justice Callaghan said.
Wilson-Knight will be eligible for parole in April 2028, having served nine months in custody already.
Bickle touched Wilson-Knight on the arm to comfort him after the sentence was handed down.
AAP