Jamie Crockett convicted of Cranbourne shooting

A father who shot an acquaintance in the leg during a “volatile meeting” at Cranbourne, leaving him “hopping on one leg”, has been sentenced in court.

A man who shot an acquaintance in a suburban street will spend years behind bars.

Jamie Crocket, 26, appeared in the County Court for sentencing on Tuesday after he was found guilty by a jury of one count of intentionally causing serious injury.

The court heard Crockett was in the driver’s seat of a stationary Mercedes, parked on a Cranbourne street, just before 6am on November 14, 2018.

When the victim arrived and approached the car, the father of two drove forward “intimating he may run him over”.

The pair, who the court heard were known to each other, conversed through Crockett’s open window before the situation escalated – the victim reached into the car and a “brief physical confrontation” occurred.

After he took a step back, Crockett pointed a gun at point-blank range and shot the victim in the upper left thigh.

The incident, and the immediate aftermath, was captured on CCTV.

Judge Mark Gamble said the footage showed the victim “hopping on one leg” before running to his house.

Crockett, who was on bail at the time, pursued the victim in the Mercedes before fleeing.

The victim lost “a significant amount of blood” by the time an ambulance arrived and required urgent saline infusions to temporarily increase his blood volume and prevent cardiac arrest, the court heard.

A doctor described the injury as “very painful” and the victim required surgery.

The court heard the victim was a “problematic witness” at the trial, despite earlier providing a statement to police, and the prosecution successfully applied for him to be declared an “unfavourable witness”.

Judge Gamble said this meant “the motivation for the shooting is clouded in mystery”.

“It is troubling it remains unexplained to this day.”

Though he noted it was clear Crockett was angry and met the victim “while armed with a loaded and shortened firearm”, he could not conclude his decision to shoot was premeditated.

Rather, he said the gun was fired in “the context of a rapidly unfolding and volatile meeting”.

“It was a gross overreaction to deliberately shoot an unarmed man in a suburban street.”

Crockett also faced a charge of possessing a handmade gun found in a black Louis Vuitton bag on a different date, which he earlier pleaded guilty to.

The court heard Crockett — who has intermittently worked building caravans — had a relevant criminal history, including weapons and assault offences, and had previously spent periods in custody.

He experienced a disadvantaged and traumatic childhood which led to substance abuse.

Noting he appeared “undeterred by past sentences”, Judge Gamble said Crockett had been drug free while in custody and regularly engaged with rehabilitation and mental health programs until Covid restrictions impacted their availability.

He was sentenced to five years and 10 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three and a half years.

His 487 days of pre-sentence detention were reckoned as time served.