Elijah Cage, Max Lowcock set to be sentenced for role in shooting murder of David King at Salt Ash
Two men were found guilty of murder and another admitted to setting fire to the getaway vehicle following the shooting death of drug dealer David King at Salt Ash. Read what happened in court.
Newcastle
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The parents of a mid-level drug dealer who was gunned down in what was described as a “drug rip gone wrong” told a court despite parts of his life he was a “good son” and “loving man” and his death had greatly impacted their extended family.
Port Stephens ice dealer David King, 45, was shot in the face at close range with a sawn-off shotgun as he attempted to drive off at Salt Ash on August 29, 2021.
His car crashed into a tree as he slumped over the wheel and he died at the scene despite the help of residents and emergency services.
A trial began in February with Elijah Cage, Max Vincent Lowcock and Tyson stamp all pleading not guilty to murdering King.
A jury returned guilty verdicts against Cage and Lowcock after more than a week of deliberations in the NSW Supreme Court at Newcastle before Justice Dina Yehia.
Stamp was acquitted and found not guilty of murder but pleaded guilty to destroying property by fire after setting a Santa Fe alight at Heatherbrae following the shooting after the court heard he was the getaway driver.
At a sentence hearing in Sydney’s Supreme Court for all three men on Friday, a victim impact statement from King’s parents Frank and Cheryl was read out.
“David was the glue that held everyone together,” the court heard.
In the statement they said his children had lost a father and he would not be around to be a grandfather.
They said they were forced to move from Tanilba Bay to Mudgee because the house they were in reminded them of their son David and the court case had stirred up many emotions.
The court heard Cage was the one who played a more significant role as the “instigator or organiser” and the shooting happened after there was talk of robbing King before an “agreement” that morning.
Crown Prosecutor Liam Shaw said the court should accept there was talk of having a firearm weeks prior and King being selected as the target.
Lowcock’s barrister Leah Rowan said the court could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt her client was the shooter or who introduced the gun to the vehicle.
“It was last minute, low degree of planning by Lowcock,” Ms Rowan said.
Cage’s barrister Angus Webb said there was no evidence an agreement came into existence before the morning of the shooting and argued his client’s moral culpability should be reduced citing childhood deprivation and a decade of life behind bars and institutionalisation, only being out of jail for six months since 2013.
Stamp’s barrister Peter Krisenthal told the court his client was regarded as a good and “respectful” young man and a brief period of taking ice saw him fall off the rails before his offending.
Mr Krisenthal said while Stamp was present at the scene and was asked to burn the car involved, there was “significant reluctance” to engage.
“Since released he has stabilised and back on the path of rehabilitation with strong family support,” he said.
Ms Yehia assured Stamp there was no risk of him going back into custody.
All three men also pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping of a woman who, the court heard, had acted as an intermediary between the men and King to buy an amount of methamphetamine but prosecutors failed to prove the charge with the jury finding them not guilty.
The men will be sentenced next month.
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