Joshua Rozynski pleads guilty to murdering Daniel Eagle

A chaotic shootout after a drug deal went wrong, resulted in a Corio man murdered after he was shot from close range with a sawn-off shotgun, a court has heard.

Joshua Rozynski (left) has pleaded guilty to murdering Daniel Eagle (right).

A Geelong dad and convicted drug dealer was murdered when he was shot at close range with a sawn-off shotgun after a bungled drug deal, a court has heard.

Joshua Rozynski fatally shot Daniel Eagle in a chaotic shootout spanning Norlane and Corio on March 27, 2021.

Rozynski pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court on Thursday to one count of murder.

The court heard Rozynski got into a car and chased Eagle, who was in a Ford Territory with two others, around the streets of Corio after the pair had a fight over a $1000 drug deal.

Eagle’s car came to stop when he smashed into a postal van on the Princes Hwy, Corio about 6am, and the feuding groups started firing shots at each other.

Rozynski then got out of his vehicle, walked up to Eagle and shot him in the back.

Eagle died in the driver’s seat of his car.

The court heard Eagle had planned to purchase drugs from Rozynski’s father, Scott Perry and half-brother, Zach Perry, but decided to cancel the deal and wanted his money back.

Corio shooting scene. On Princes Highway opposite Harpur Road Corio. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Crown prosecutor Neil Hutton said a dispute broke out between the two groups over the deal, with shots fired at Eagle’s Norlane home about 5am.

Nearly 30 minutes later, Eagle and two other men collected a gun from a friend and drove to Scott Perry’s Corio home where shots were again fired.

They were chased in their by car by Rozynski before the fatal incident.

“A few moments later CCTV captures the offender discharging a shot which appears to strike them in Shepherdson Ave, Corio,” Mr Hutton said.

Police investigate shooting fatality in Corio which occurred around 6am. Picture : Ian Currie

Rozynski turned himself into Geelong police station the next day where he told police he got a phone call from his little brother to say his father’s house had been shot at.

Mr Hutton said Rozynski and Mr Perry chased Eagle “just to scare him” and continued to chase the car until it was hit by a truck.

Rozynski told police he shot Eagle.

“The c--- shot at someone’s house and he f---ing got shot, that to me looks pretty simple,” Rozynski said.

Rozynski’s lawyer, Sam Tovey, told the court his client had an “awful, chaotic and entirely dysfunctional upbringing” which affected his decision to chase Eagle during the “moment of madness”.

Joshua Rozynski in 2013. Picture: Facebook

In a victim impact statement read out in court by Eagle’s daughter Rikki she said she felt lost and vulnerable.

“I miss the smell of dad’s cologne, the sounds of his laugh, his voice when he calls my name,” it sid.

“The physical pain from my body from this loss is indescribable.

“I wake up everyday with a deep sense of loss that stays with me 24/7. I often spend my days locked up in my house crying”.

Justice John Champion said he would sentence Rozynski at a later date.

Originally published as Joshua Rozynski pleads guilty to murdering Daniel Eagle