Adam Elliot: Man set fire to ex’s clothes, fired shotgun at Hoppers Crossing home

A heartbroken labourer from Hoppers Crossing burned his ex’s belongings and fired a shotgun at her house during a drunken rage.

A heartbroken young man in Melbourne’s west has been jailed after firing a shotgun at his ex-partner’s house and burning her belongings in a drunken rage.

Adam Elliot, of Hoppers Crossing, was sentenced to eight and a half months of imprisonment in the County Court on October 29 after pleading guilty to arson, discharging a firearm at a premises and firearm possession.

The court was told the 20-year-old labourer had met his ex at a party in January, quickly falling head over heels for her, and was devastated when she broke up with him two months later.

On March 30, she messaged Elliot asking him to return clothes and other items she had left at his house.

He responded with angry and abusive messages, calling her a “f------ dumb redhead” and sending other profanity-laced messages.

Around 1.30am her mother woke after hearing loud bangs downstairs to find shotgun pellets and broken glass littering the living room.

The 18-year-old ex-girlfriend then found Elliot had sent her 14 videos of him burning her clothes and yelling abuse.

He was arrested on April 1, with police finding a stolen 12-gauge shotgun under his kitchen sink.

Elliot told police he’d found the gun in a blue bag on a footpath in Altona Meadows in March, and initially denied firing the weapon, but later admitted he’d shot at the house twice.

“I wasn’t intending to hurt anyone, I was obviously just drunk and being an idiot,” he told police.

Judge Elizabeth Gaynor said the explanation did not excuse his behaviour, but did provide context for it.

“You may have thought everyone was going to be asleep, it may have simply been you letting off hurt and anger,” she said.

“But it was so dangerous … you could have caused long term physical damage, as it happens you have done long term emotional damage to the family.”

His teenage victim read a letter to the court outlining how she, and her family, were still suffering trauma from the “frightening” incident.

“I no longer see the world as a safe and predictable place, especially at my home where you‘re meant to feel safest,” she said.

“It was taken away from me and my family. I never expected anything like this to happen, especially from someone I thought cared for me.”

Elliot was jailed for eight and a half months and will be placed on an 18-month community corrections order once released.

Judge Gaynor ordered he undergo treatment for mental health issues and alcohol and drug dependency. He will also have to complete 100 hours of community service.