Siblings Darcy Morgan and Tessa Ellaine Morgan sentenced over Seven Oaks shooting

He may have been the victim of a bullet once himself, but Darcy Morgan still decided to shoot a man in the arm over a small drug debt. The decision has cost him a significant stint without his liberty.

As part of their investigations, police released a CCTV image of a black-coloured Subaru believed to have been in the vicinity of Seven Oaks at the time of the alleged shooting.

A man, who was once the victim of a bullet himself, has been jailed for eight years for shooting a man over a small drug debt on a remote mid-north coast property.

Darcy Morgan, of Paxton in the Hunter coalfields, drove to a property at Seven Oaks – in the Macleay Valley – in convoy with his sister’s partner on Australia Day last year to collect a $1900 debt for the sale of methamphetamine, Newcastle District Court has heard.

But when the victim walked back into his house, prompting Morgan’s sister’s boyfriend to leave in his car, Morgan instead drove further down the driveway.

It prompted the victim to again walk outside, approach Morgan and yell “I thought I told you to f--k off”.

The court has heard that there was a torch shone in Morgan’s face and, not knowing whether the 36-year-old victim was armed, the now 29-year-old grabbed his firearm and shot the man in his left arm.

The Morgan siblings were sentenced in Newcastle District Court on Thursday. (File picture)

Morgan fled as the victim’s partner rang triple-0 and wrapped his arm in a tea towel to stem the bleeding before he was rushed to Port Macquarie Hospital for treatment.

Following an investigation, Morgan was arrested during a police raid at Paxton.

He pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, acquiring a firearm subject to a prohibition order, wound a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and acquire ammunition subject to a prohibition order.

Morgan’s defence barrister Rebecca Suters told a sentence hearing earlier this year that her client had been shot himself in 2022 and was “hypervigilant” since the incident.

She said Morgan had mental health issues with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and had exhibited “impulsiveness” and made a snap decision to shoot the victim, which warranted a reduction in his moral culpability.

Police facts said the exchange prompted Morgan to flee as the man’s partner called triple-0 and wrapped his arm before paramedics and police arrived.

Judge Jennie Girdham sentenced Morgan in Newcastle District Court on Thursday to a maximum aggregate term of eight years with a non-parole period of five years and three months.

With time already served, Morgan will be eligible for release on parole on August 22, 2028.

His sister, Tessa Ellaine Morgan, 35, was sentenced to a maximum two years in jail for one count of accessory after the fact to wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

She was given a non-parole period of 15 months and, with time already served, she will not be eligible to be released until May 2 next year.