Albert Biba jailed for fatally shooting Andrew Toumayan in Ringwood

A man who rushed to a Ringwood grow house with a loaded gun to stop an intruder, then fired it, has learnt his fate.

Victoria Police investigating Mr Toumayan’s death.

A man who fatally shot a carpenter who was trying to burgle a Ringwood grow house after he rushed to the property to stop the intruder has been jailed.

Albert Biba, 33, was sentenced to a minimum of seven years’ jail before the Supreme Court on Friday, having pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter.

Biba caused the death of Andrew Toumayan when he shot the 28-year-old in the chest as he was leaving 30 Wantirna Rd, Ringwood about 1am on April 17, 2018

The court heard Toumayan and a friend had gone to the crop house, armed with an iron bar and secateurs, planning to steal marijuana from the sophisticated hydroponic set up.

The pair were caught on CCTV knocking on the front door before they forced their way into the house about 12.45am.

Victoria Police attend the scene where Mr Toumayan died.

Their entry triggered a motion-activated alarm system that sent messages to the phone of the man renting the property.

The leasee then phoned Biba, who jumped in a Toyota Prato and rushed from Box Hill to the grow house.

Meanwhile, Toumayan and his friend found the large marijuana plants in the house weren’t flowering and decided to leave empty handed.

Toumayan was stepping out the front gate of the property when Biba arrived and shot him in the chest.

Toumayan and his friend then ran from the property until the victim collapsed in a driveway on Barkly St.

The court heard his friend tried to get help and gave him mouth-to-mouth, but Toumayan died at the scene.

Biba fled back to Box Hill.

The Glen Waverley man was not arrested until August 31, 2018.

The court heard Biba was not alleged to have been involved in cultivating the hefty cannabis crop, which totalled more than 74kg.

It was heard the Albanian man emigrated to Australia in August 2013 on a false green card and would likely be deported upon his release from jail.

Justice Christopher Beale said Biba’s crime was a serious example of manslaughter, even though he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Biba went to the scene planning to shoot anyone.

Justice Beale said bringing a loaded gun to the scene, even if it had simply been intended to fire a warning shot, greatly increased Biba’s moral culpability.

“You deliberately discharged it in close proximity to the deceased,” Justice Beale said.

“Your actions were fraught with danger to life.”

Biba’s lawyer had previously told the court that Biba firing the gun was not an accident, but had “happened in a panic”.

Justice Beale said he believed Biba’s remorse was limited, with Biba’s letter to the court not having mentioned any remorse for having taken Mr Toumayan’s life at all.

The court heard references given to the court indicated Biba was a person of previously good character, and that he had been a “model prisoner” on remand.

Justice Beale said he was taking into account that prison was harder for Biba than others due to his PTSD, as well as the difficult conditions he’d experienced in custody due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biba was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years’ jail, having already served 1015 days.