A judge has expressed concern about releasing a raging gunman who shot up the home of a lifelong friend, saying he is "just so violent" when angry and on drugs.
She made her comments as the shooter's lawyer argued setting the offender free, with the appropriate support, would benefit both him and the community.
Brodie Antoniak, 32, appeared in the ACT Supreme Court for a sentence hearing on Thursday, having previously admitted peppering a young family's Narrabundah house with bullets in broad daylight last November.
The self-employed tiler pleaded guilty over the incident to charges of discharging a loaded rifle in an act endangering life, intentionally damaging property, and using a prohibited firearm.
Agreed facts show he got into a dispute with a lifelong friend about the ownership and whereabouts of a ute he had left at this man's Goyder Street property when he moved out after a period of living there.
The disagreement escalated to a point where Antoniak damaged a gate at the side of the house before jumping up and down on his friend's Ford Focus, leaving dents in the roof and "a large, foot-sized hole" in the windscreen.
When Antoniak's friend came out of the house, Antoniak reached into the Holden Commodore he had travelled there in, grabbed a rifle and fired it in the man's direction.
Antoniak discharged a total of five bullets into the victim's house during the November 3 incident as the man raced inside and hid with his partner and two young children.
He was arrested that night, and has been behind bars on remand ever since.
Antoniak's lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith, on Thursday urged Acting Justice Verity McWilliam to sentence the 32-year-old to an intensive correction order rather than any more time in custody.
He suggested such a sentence could be imposed on two of the charges, while the remaining count might carry a term amounting to time already served.
Mr Kukulies-Smith said an intensive correction order would help Antoniak practically address the things that might make him reoffend, like problematic gambling and drug use, whereas being locked up would merely make him abstain until he was released.
He conceded his client had acted violently while in "a drug and alcohol-fuelled rage", but he characterised what happened as a loss of control rather than a well-thought-out plan.
He suggested Antoniak had arrived at the Narrabundah property to damage the victim's things, then reached for the gun somewhat spontaneously to stop the victim coming out to confront him.
"It is consistent with an 'if you're taking my car, I'm going to take yours' kind of mentality," Mr Kukulies-Smith said.
"It did not seem to just be the plan to shoot up the house."
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Acting Justice McWilliam accepted Antoniak's actions were not calculated, but she said there was some evidence of pre-planning because the 32-year-old had been at the property in question less than three hours before the offending.
She pointed out that Antoniak had left, dropped off a woman and child, and picked up a gun before going back and committing his crimes.
Prosecutor Margaret Smith also highlighted this, arguing there was evidence of planning despite the offending being unsophisticated.
She said the crimes were particularly serious and full-time imprisonment was warranted.
"This was in a residential area in the middle of the day," Ms Smith told the court.
Acting Justice McWilliam ultimately said she wanted to take the opportunity for "calm reflection in chambers" before sentencing Antoniak next Thursday.
She had earlier expressed concern that Antoniak had not completed any rehabilitation programs during his time behind bars on remand.
"When he is angry and he is on drugs, the consequences are just so violent," she said.
"And that's with a friend of 30 years; someone he's supposedly got some affection for.
"But those we love the most are often the ones who cause us the most frustration and anxiety."
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