A man has been sentenced to a maximum of 42 years in prison for killing his neighbour during a shooting spree, which was triggered by loud music.
Bradley Jason Mark White fired more than 220 bullets from his house in Wyong, on the NSW Central Coast, hitting four properties over a 45-minute period on March 17, 2020.
He used two unregistered rifles to shoot Byron Tonks, 20, in the chest, killing him, and hit Pamela Dickinson, Albert Tonks, and at least two others who were inside their homes or on the street.
White told police that he started the rampage after becoming angry with three young neighbours who played loud music and rattled his fence, as well as other neighbours who were talking about him and staring.
The former baker was found guilty by a jury of one count of murder, two counts of discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and four counts of recklessly shooting at a dwelling.
After twice setting fire to one of the teens’ utes to try to coax him out, White got into an argument with his neighbours and went to his house to get the guns.
“I felt that police were coming anyway so I thought f*** it, I‘m just going to go hard,” he later told police.
Although he had taken both methylamphetamine and cannabis at the time of the rampage, the judge found that the drugs did not impair his ability to realise what he was doing.
White could be heard shouting in a video taken midway through the shooting.
“I‘m going to kill you all. I warned you. Get out from behind the cars, you cowards,” he said.
Additionally, the judge found that White’s mental impairments, including a brain injury he suffered from being beaten up by a gang armed with baseball bats in 2000, did not affect his ability to determine whether his actions were wrong.
Justice Ierace sentenced White to a maximum of 42 years in prison, backdated to his arrest on the day of the shooting. This means that White will have to remain in prison until at least 2050 before being eligible for parole.
