Mitchell Jay Dow jailed over 2023 Whittington shooting

He had a supportive family, a trade and prospects. Now he’ll spend years behind bars after shooting a man in the neck in a bungled drug debt collection.

Mitchell Jay Dow. Picture: Facebook.

A court has heard how a drug-addict’s life unravelled to the point he shot an innocent man in the neck in an attempt to collect a “drug debt”.

Mitchell Jay Dow, 31, was on Thursday jailed in the County Court for a period of seven years and four months by Judge Marcus Dempsey over the March 2023 shooting.

Dow, who has already spent more than two years behind bars, will be eligible for parole after serving four years of that sentence.

In sentencing Dow, Judge Dempsey told him he had “proven to be a particularly dangerous and violent individual when you do not manage your illness and abuse drugs”.

However, he found Dow had “respectable” prospects of rehabilitation “in the right conditions.”

Less than 24 hours after being placed on an 18-month community corrections order (CCO), Dow acquired a gun and went to a home in Fresia Court, Whittington, to collect a supposed $25,000 drug debt.

He fled on foot after firing seven shots into a shed as a man hid inside, one shot hitting the man in the neck.

The victim, who was not the man who supposedly owed Dow, was hospitalised and required surgery to have a bullet fragment removed.

While no formal victim impact statements were provided, Judge Dempsey said the episode would have been “an absolutely terrifying and traumatic experience”.

Prior to the victim entering the shed and locking the door behind him, the court heard Dow held the gun to the man’s head, threatening to blow it off.

“It isn’t sophisticated offending but nor does it need to be to be effective and or terrifying,” Judge Dempsey said.

He told the court it was “miraculous” the victim was not more seriously injured or killed.

Following Dow’s plea in July last year, further plea hearings were held in October and April, where mental health practitioners and his mother gave evidence.

The court heard Dow’s mental function was impaired at the time the offending took place

Dow came from a loving and supportive Bellarine family, the court heard.

He began using ecstasy recreationally at 16 but his drug use began increasing about a decade later when he began using cocaine and speed regularly at 25.

His family got him a three-month stay at a rehab clinic in Thailand and it worked for a time.

However, during the Covid pandemic in 2020, Dow’s mental health deteriorated and he began abusing ice. His criminal history only began when he was 28.

In 2020 and 2021, Dow was thrice admitted to a private hospital, where his treatment included “electro-convulsive” therapy, the court heard.

Judge Dempsey said Dow’s descent was sharp and he became unrecognisable to his concerned family.

At the time of the shooting Dow was substance dependent – using a gram of ice a day – and suffering from complex mental health issues including bipolar disorder, for which he had stopped taking his medication.

Referring to a number of character references tendered on Dow’s behalf, Judge Dempsey said there was “clearly more” to him than “this violent thuggery you engaged in”.

“You are much loved and supported by your parents and brothers … (your) situation has placed tremendous strain on them,” he told Dow.

Judge Dempsey said he found Dow was contrite and remorseful for what he had done.

Originally published as Mitchell Jay Dow jailed over 2023 Whittington shooting